Lawmakers Seek Exoneration For Port Chicago 50

A pair of Bay Area elected officials are hoping to shine a light on the predicament of black sailors who made a stand after many lost their lives in a cargo vessel explosion in Contra Costa County during World War II.

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, and Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, introduced a resolution that also aims for an exoneration of black sailors who were court-martialed after a deadly blast in 1944 at a depot in the former town of Port Chicago.

Referred to as the Port Chicago 50, the sailors refused to return to the unsafe working conditions that killed 435 of their fellow black munitions sailors, according to Lee's office.

"Sadly, due to their act of bravery in the face of discrimination, (they) were tried and convicted of mutiny," Lee said in a statement. Instead of the 15 years of hard labor they were sentenced to, Lee said, "these brave sailors should be recognized for their courage."

Continuing decades of efforts by various groups and elected officials to have all 50 men posthumously exonerated, DeSaulnier and Lee co-sponsored a resolution that was referred to the House Committee on Armed Services last week.

The move has received support of groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Hilary Shelton, a NAACP director, said in a statement that she believes this endeavor is particularly timely given the "increased racial and ethnic bigotry on the national stage."

Last summer, DeSaulnier, Lee and members of the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to help remove the "racially biased convictions" from the records of these servicemen.

"The Port Chicago 50 were called upon to fight for our country, but ended up fighting for their own lives," DeSaulnier said in a statement.

"It is long past time to recognize this injustice and to set the record straight."

-Bay City News Service, image via Wikimedia