To: Board of Supervisors
From: Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor
Report Title: ADOPT Resolution 2024-278 celebrating the exoneration of the Port Chicago 50 and recognizing those who significantly contributed towards the exoneration advocacy efforts, as recommended by Supervisor Federal Glover.
☐Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ADOPT a resolution celebrating the exoneration of the Port Chicago 50 and recognizing those who significantly contributed towards the exoneration advocacy efforts, as recommended by Supervisor Federal Glover.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact.
BACKGROUND:
On July 17, 2024, eighty years after explosions at the Port Chicago naval facility in Contra Costa County killed 320 sailors, Coast Guard personnel and civilians, the secretary of the Navy announced the full exoneration of African American sailors who were charged in 1944 with mutiny and refusing orders to return to work in dangerous conditions loading ammunition.
Over the years, the Board of Supervisors has recognized and supported the exoneration advocacy efforts on behalf of the Port Chicago 50.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
N/A
The Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, California
IN THE MATTER OF recognizing the United States Navy’s exoneration of the Port Chicago Sailors
WHEREAS, on July 17, 1944, there was a large waterfront munitions explosion at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine which killed more than 320 sailors, over 200 of whom were African American; and
WHEREAS, the explosion also injured 390 others, including 226 African American enlisted men; and
WHEREAS, before the explosion, these men were working significant hours with munitions continuously being loaded despite little to no training; and
WHEREAS, the specific cause of the explosion was never officially determined by a court of inquiry, and the blame was placed on the shoulders of the men who died in the explosion; and
WHEREAS, when ordered to return to loading ammunitions, over two hundred sailors refused to return to work due to the unsafe working conditions; and
WHEREAS, these sailors courageously advocated for safety for themselves and others by requesting adequate training and equipment before returning to work, and in response, the Navy identified fifty Black sailors as the leaders of the organized action; and
WHEREAS, the Navy charged these fifty individuals with mutiny, and this decision resulted in one of the most significant mutiny trials in U.S. military history; and
WHEREAS, the fifty sailors, now known as the Port Chicago 50, were supported by then NAACP Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall who through the press raised the racist nature of the trial and called into question the Navy’s segregationist policies; and
WHEREAS, this trial was a major catalyst for the United States Navy to desegregate following the war; and
WHEREAS, the outcome of the trial wrongly convicted the Port Chicago 50 of mutiny, and they were sentenced to prison; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Marshall’s appeal of their convictions was officially denied; and
WHEREAS, there have been several attempts over the years to appeal the decision, but all have previously failed; and
WHEREAS, starting in the 1990s, Congressman George Miller worked to preserve the history of the Port Chicago 50 and worked towards their exoneration, and in 1992, his legislation designated the site of the Port Chicago Naval Magazine as a national memorial, which is managed by the National Park Service; and
WHEREAS, the East Bay Regional Park District received part of the Concord Naval Weapons Station through a Public Benefit Conveyance on July 19, 2019, and has named the park the Thurgood Marshall Regional Park - Home of the Port Chicago 50, which honors the courage and legacy of the Port Chicago 50 and all those who sacrificed their lives in our nation’s ongoing struggle for social justice, racial equality, and workers’ rights; and
WHEREAS, in 2022, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) successfully passed a measure that would direct the Secretary of the United States Navy to publicly exonerate the Port Chicago 50, and this effort was included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 7900) which passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 329-to-101; and
WHEREAS, the courageous and tenacious advocacy for the exoneration of the Port Chicago 50 never ceased from several key organizations, including the Friends of the Port Chicago National Memorial, a 501c3 that is an official partner with the National Park Service, led by Reverend Diana McDaniel, Senior Minister of Unity Church of San Leandro, and the Port Chicago 50 Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring, preserving, and elevating the history of Port Chicago Naval Magazine and the sailors who resided, served, and championed equal rights there during World War II, led by Executive Director Yulie Padmore, and the Contra Costa County Bar Association's Port Chicago Task Force comprised of attorneys, as well as non-attorney members of the community, formed to raise awareness of this injustice in the legal and broader community and advocate for the setting aside of the mutiny convictions of the Port Chicago 50, chaired by Jonathan Lee; and
WHEREAS, on July 17, 2024, on the 80th anniversary of the deadly explosion, the United States’ Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro announced the full exoneration of the 256 Black sailors who were unjustly court-martialed following the tragic explosion at Port Chicago in 1944.
Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County does hereby celebrate the exoneration of the Port Chicago 50 and recognizes their service to our country.
Now, be it further resolved that the Board of Supervisors recognizes the continuous and ceaseless advocacy efforts that helped keep this case alive in public memory and culminate in an official exoneration of the wrongfully accused, while contributing another important milestone in our nation’s struggle for social justice, racial equity, and workers’ rights.