1944

Thurgood Marshall argued and won an 8-1 Supreme Court ruling that the all-white Democratic primary in Texas — effectively the only election that mattered in the one-party South — violated the Fifteenth Amendment. The decision opened primaries to Black voters in Texas and challenged the legal basis of white primaries across the South.

The Servicemen's Readjustment Act (GI Bill) of 1944 is facially race-neutral but implemented through local Veterans Administration offices controlled by white administrators, especially in the South. In Mississippi, of the first 3,229 GI Bill home and business loans, only 2 go to Black veterans. Nationwide, banks refuse Black veterans' VA-backed loan applications. Black veterans are steered toward vocational training rather than college benefits. The result: white veterans build wealth through homeownership and education while Black veterans are locked out.

On July 17, 1944, an explosion at Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California kills 320 men, 202 of them Black enlisted men who did nearly all the dangerous ammunition loading under white officers. Black sailors had complained for months about unsafe conditions and officers betting on which divisions could load fastest. The explosion is the deadliest home-front disaster of WWII and disproportionately devastates the Black enlisted workforce.

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.

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 which crew would load fastest. An explosion killed 320 men — 202 of them Black. When survivors refused to return to the same conditions, 50 were court-martialed for mutiny.

After the July 17 explosion, 258 Black sailors refuse to return to loading ammunition in the same unsafe conditions. 208 are given summary punishment. 50 refuse again and are court-martialed for mutiny, facing potential death sentences. Thurgood Marshall attends the trial and writes a scathing report documenting racial discrimination in the Navy. All 50 are convicted; sentences range from 8 to 15 years. The case becomes a catalyst for desegregating the Navy.

NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshall attends the court-martial of the Port Chicago 50 and investigates conditions at the base. He documents that Black sailors performed all dangerous loading duties under white officers who bet on work speeds. Marshall publishes a detailed report condemning the Navy's systemic racism and the unfair prosecution. His advocacy helps build the case for military desegregation that culminates in Executive Order 9981 in 1948.

The Supreme Court bans the all-white primary, a key tool of disenfranchisement.

Landmark veterans' benefits are administered to largely exclude Black servicemen.