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The Port Chicago 50
Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights
1 of 1 copy available
On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked the segregated Navy base at Port Chicago, California, killing more than 300 sailors who were at the docks, critically injuring off-duty men in their bunks, and shattering windows up to a mile away. On August 9th, 244 men refused to go back to work until unsafe and unfair conditions at the docks were addressed. When the dust settled, fifty were charged with mutiny, facing decades in jail and even execution. This is a fascinating story of the prejudice that faced black men and women in America's armed forces during World War II, and a nuanced look at those who gave their lives in service of a country where they lacked the most basic rights.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Awards
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Release date
January 21, 2014 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780804167451
- File size: 110279 KB
- Duration: 03:49:44
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Lexile® Measure: 950
- Text Difficulty: 5-6
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Reviews
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Narrator Dominic Hoffman serves as an outstanding educator while also capturing the voices of many of the victims of this tragedy. He also portrays Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who became involved with their case. In 1944, on the segregated naval base in Port Chicago, California, 300 black sailors were killed and many others injured when the munitions they were loading onto warships exploded. Three weeks later they refused to return to their unsafe duties. During a court-martial, they were found guilty of mutiny despite much evidence to the contrary. This audiobook offers young listeners a splendid opportunity to hear a trial in action and learn about the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. S.G.B. (c) AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine -
April 28, 2014
An explosion that killed nearly 300 soldiers in Port Chicago, Calif., during World War II played an essential role in the battle for civil rights, especially in the desegregation of the military. Sheinkin explores the lives of the segregated African-Americans affected by the explosion and their attempts to secure adequate workplace protection despite facing court martial and imprisonment. Narrator Hoffman has a deep and slightly raspy voice that makes his narration enjoyable. His commanding tone is a perfect match for the author’s prose: his words are strongly projected but also concisely uttered. Hoffman deliberate narration creates tension in this production that is geared toward younger listeners. Ages 10–14. A Roaring Brook hardcover. -
Starred review from November 11, 2013
Sheinkin delivers another meticulously researched WWII story, one he discovered while working on his Newbery Honor book, Bomb. The accidental explosion at Port Chicago, a California Navy base where African-American servicemen loaded ammunition onto ships, killed more than 300 soldiers and injured nearly 400. The author carefully details how this long-forgotten event from 1944 was pivotal in helping end segregation in the military. Though not as fast-paced as Bomb, the dialogue-laden narrative draws heavily on past interviews with the servicemen, telling the story from their perspective. Ordered to load ammunition without proper training—and often in a competitive atmosphere fostered by their white officers—50 African-American sailors refused to return to the same work after the disaster. Readers get a front-row seat at their mutiny trial through myriad trial transcript excerpts. Tried and convicted, their convictions still stand today despite efforts to expunge the now-deceased men’s records. Archival photos appear throughout, and an extensive bibliography, source notes, and index conclude this gripping, even horrific account of a battle for civil rights predating Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. Ages 10–14. Agent: Susan Cohen, Writers House. (Jan.) ■
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