Aftermath of Explosion

The Port Chicago Disaster:

​​​​​​​Communicating the Racial Injustice in the Armed Forces

Aftermath of Explosion

The Port Chicago disaster made way for military reform by communicating to the country about racism in the military. ​​​​​​​

"After all these years, the world should know what happened at Port Chicago. It should be cleared up that we did not commit mutiny, and we were charged with that because of our race."
~ Freddie Meeks, Port Chicago 50

In response to accusations exposed during the trial by the men, the Navy recognized its dangerous procedures, unfair rules and began to desegregate, employing both blacks and whites to load ammunition. ​​​​​​​

The Port Chicago 50 proved to be pivotal in the Navy reassessing its protocols to make them safer. Ultimately, after 16 months in prison​​​​​​​, the Port Chicago 50 were granted clemency. ​​​​​​​

The protests surrounding the Port Chicago disaster prompted President Truman to pass Executive Order 9981 in 1948, three years after the end of the war, which integrated all Armed Forces. The Navy and Air Force were first to follow this order but the Army resisted, only completely integrating during the Korean War.

(Source) Military Times

Executive Order 9981  (Source) National Archives

"There shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin."
~ Executive Order 9981

Port Chicago 50 still not exonerated, 1994 (Source) San Francisco Chronicles

However, complete justice is still not achieved, as the Port Chicago 50 aren't fully exonerated. In the early 1990’s a review of the case led by Representative George Miller confirmed that the trial was racist and unfair. However, William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense, stated in a letter to Congress in 1994 about Port Chicago,"Sailors are required to obey the orders of their superiors, even if those orders subject them to life-threatening danger." Congress ended up creating a memorial to those who died at Port Chicago , to serve as a reminder of the disaster.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Port Chicago Memorial  (Source) 

New memorial being built, 2009 (Source) San Francisco Chronicles

In 1999, President Bill Clinton pardoned Freddie Meeks, one of the last surviving men from Port Chicago 50, but the others died without their names cleared. 

Freddie Meeks (Source) SF Gate

(Source) New York Times

In 2019, a bill was passed in the House of Representatives under the leadership of Representative Mark DeSaulnier that would exonerate the Port Chicago 50, but wasn’t passed in the Senate.

"Here we are 75 years later and we still have’t found the compassion to pardon those other 49 people for what the government considered to be an injustice toward this country, when it was really an injustice toward those sailors."
~ Richard Soublet, son of a survivor

Although President Truman integrated forces, according to a 2019 poll in Military Times, racism is still alive in the military with more than half saying they’ve experienced racism. Minority soldiers endure slurs and racist symbols such as KKK symbols , swastika’s, and nooses. They’re also more likely to be investigated and severely punished than their white counterparts. Furthermore, although 43% of the military are minorities, it wasn’t until 2020 that the first black general, Charles Brown Jr, was chosen to lead a military branch.

Mutiny Trial
Conclusion