80 Years After Port Chicago Explosion, US Navy Exonerates 256 Black Sailors

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KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 18 July 2024

⏱️ 56 minutes

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Summary

80 years ago, 320 men, mostly African American, died at Port Chicago, an ammunition depot in what is now Concord. It was the deadliest incident on U.S. soil during World War II. After the explosion the Navy charged more than 250 Black sailors with mutiny for refusing to return to work in dangerous conditions. On Wednesday, the 80th anniversary of the explosion, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro exonerated the sailors, calling the charges, “an enormous wrong.” We’ll talk about the Port Chicago explosion and how the subsequent legal proceedings laid the foundation for the civil rights movement and the desegregation of the navy. Guests: Yulie Padmore, executive director, Port Chicago Alliance Rev. Diana McDaniel, president, Friends of Port Chicago National Memorial Daryl Meeks, His father, Freddie Meeks, was imprisoned for 18 months for refusing to work under dangerous conditions after the Port Chicago explosion. He was pardoned by President Clinton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:24.3	80 years ago, 320 men, mostly African American, died at Port Chicago in
1:30.1	Ammunition Depot and what is now conquered. Before the explosion, they were subject to segregated
1:35.0	and brutal working conditions, given very little training, and paid less than civilians doing
1:39.9	similar work. After the explosion, some men refused to go back to loading ammunition and 50 were
1:46.3	convicted of mutiny. On Wednesday, the 80th anniversary of the explosion, Navy Secretary Carlos
1:52.2	del Toro exonerated the sailors calling the charges an enormous wrong. We'll talk about Port
1:57.7	Chicago and all its repercussions right after this news.
2:18.4	Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. The U.S. armed forces were segregated for many years as Jim Crow infested the military.
2:24.1	In the Navy, nearly all black people were made messmen, working in the kitchens and serving the officers.
	...

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