Senators Request Exoneration for African American Sailors Convicted of Mutiny During World War II

Press Release

Washington - U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein (both D-CA) today sent a letter urging President Barack Obama to take executive action to exonerate 50 African American sailors wrongly convicted of mutiny following one of the worst home-front disasters of World War II at the Port Chicago Naval Base in Concord, California.

"Port Chicago serves as a stark reminder of both the sacrifice of the brave service members who served there and of the painful legacy of a segregated military," Boxer and Feinstein wrote in the letter. "We urge you to take executive action to restore justice to these 50 sailors who signed up to serve our country in World War II but were instead victims of racism and unjust convictions."

On July 17, 1944, a group of young African American sailors was assigned to load bombs and ammunition onto naval ships at Port Chicago, a segregated naval base in California. Insufficient training on the handling the dangerous munitions and hectic loading schedules contributed to a catastrophic explosion of nearly 5,000 tons of ammunition that killed 320 servicemembers, including 202 African American sailors who were loading the munitions onto the ships.

After the accident, the white officers operating the base ordered African American sailors immediately back to work loading munitions, but many refused, citing unsafe conditions. The Navy arrested hundreds of sailors on various charges, and 50 of these men, known as the "Port Chicago 50" were charged with mutiny. All were African American and all were convicted.

Thurgood Marshall took up the case of the Port Chicago 50, and although he was unable to have the convictions overturned, President Truman gave them clemency after the war ended.

A later review of the trial confirmed that race played a significant factor in the harsh sentences handed down, and in 1999, President Bill Clinton pardoned Freddie Meeks, one of the surviving members of the Port Chicago 50. But the records for the 49 other sailors remain unchanged.

Calling the tragedy a "grave injustice," the Senators wrote that exonerating the 50 sailors "would demonstrate our commitment to a just and equal society for all Americans."

In 2010, President Obama signed into law legislation introduced by Senators Boxer, Feinstein and former Congressman George Miller to designate the Port Chicago Memorial site as part of the National Park Service. While this memorial serves to honor and remember the Port Chicago 50, there is more to be done to set the historical record straight. ⋆