OppressionJuly 17, 1944
Port Chicago Explosion Kills 202 Black Sailors; 50 Court-Martialed for Mutiny
At Port Chicago Naval Magazine, Black enlisted men were ordered to load munitions under dangerous conditions with no safety training while white officers bet on loading speed. An explosion killed 320 men — 202 of them Black. When survivors refused to return to the same conditions, 50 were court-martialed for mutiny.