Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights By Steve Sheinkin
During WWII, the navy as well as all the armed forces were segregated. Black sailors were allowed to enlist, however, they couldn’t serve on ships other than as cooks and attendants of that sort. So any who were in the Navy ended up doing menial labor jobs. However, there was another job that blacks were put to work doing at Port Chicago in California. This involved loading the ammunition aboard the naval ships. Only black sailors were given this task, with white officers supervising them. No training in how to handle these explosives was given to the sailors. It seemed an explosion was only a matter of time...and it was.
Recommended for grades 7 and up.