Oakland honors Black sailors who died in World War II explosion and those found mutinous for protesting

On July 17, 1944, sailors were loading two liberty ships at Port Chicago in Suisun Bay, nearly 30 miles northeast of Oakland, when an explosion went off and killed 320 people, 200 of whom were Black.

Among the 390 who were injured, nearly 60% also were Black.

After the explosion at the port, which served as a major facility for supplying ammunition during World War II, 258 sailors protested returning to work because of the dangerous conditions and were warned that their actions could be considered mutinous, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command. All but 50 Black sailors, known as the “Port Chicago 50,” continued to refuse the duty.

This month, Oakland City Council voted to honor the hundreds of sailors who died in the explosion and those who protested, by marking July 17 as Port Chicago Remembrance Day. After decades of attempted appeals from the sailors and their descendants, on July 17 of this year, the men were exonerated, 80 years to the day after the explosion.

“This item is certainly one that’s really personal for us, particularly those in the Black community who have heard the stories about the Port Chicago sailors and the 50 sailors who fought for justice and desegregation,” said Councilmember Treva Reid, who introduced the resolution. “In support of the exoneration of the Port Chicago 50, this resolution is to stand in agreement with a national movement.”

Members of the Port Chicago Alliance, an organization dedicated to elevating the history of the port and the sailors who fought for equal rights there, witnessed the honor. 

“This resolution acknowledging and honoring the legacy of the Port Chicago sailors and the 50 sailors who fought is incredibly meaningful,” said Yulie Padmore, the nonprofit’s executive director. “We have so much appreciation for everyone who made this possible.”

Court-martial

In accordance with the Navy’s personnel policies in the 1940s, a majority of the sailors doing the dangerous work of loading the ammunition at Port Chicago were Black enlisted personnel, while their officers were white.

For protesting the working conditions, the Port Chicago 50 were court-martialed and found guilty of conspiracy to commit mutiny. They were sentenced to eight to 15 years of confinement and dishonorably discharged. 

Following the trials, Thurgood Marshall, then-chief counsel of the NAACP who later became the first Black justice on the Supreme Court, unsuccessfully appealed the sailors’ convictions. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt pressured then-Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal to have the convicted sailors released in January 1946. 

In exonerating the men, current Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said, “The Port Chicago 50, and the hundreds who stood with them, may not be with us today, but their story lives on, a testament to the enduring power of courage and the unwavering pursuit of justice. They stand as a beacon of hope, forever reminding us that even in the face of overwhelming odds, the fight for what’s right can and will prevail.”

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