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The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights

Steve Sheinkin

4.02 · Rating details · 5,740 ratings · 955 reviews

An astonishing civil rights story from Newbery Honor winner and National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin.

On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked the segregated Navy base at Port Chicago, California, killing more than 300 sailors who were at the docks, critically injuring off-duty men in their bunks, and shattering windows up to a mile away. On August 9th, 244 men r ...more

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Hardcover, 200 pages

Published January 21st 2014 by Roaring Brook Press

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Oct 29, 2017 Rachel Reads Ravenously rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade-or-childrens, paperback

I was lucky enough to hear Steve Sheinkin speak at the CLCSC Fall Gala, and of all the interesting things he brought up, this story really stood out to me. Little known fact to anyone other than my close readers friends, I am a children's librarian. And my undergraduate degree was in history. Sheinkin's key note speech reminded me of why I love history. You see, he used to work for textbook companies, and they never told the interesting stories of history, so he wrote them on his own.

This story ...more

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Feb 10, 2014 Tony Keefer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: novel-length-2014, faves-published-in-2014, nonfiction, winter-trimester-2013, read-2014

Excellent book. My first thoughts when I finished The Port Chicago 50 were:

1) Wow.
2) Why hadn't I heard this story before?
3) Can't wait to share this book.
4) I am glad Steve Sheinkin likes to write books. ...more

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Mar 07, 2014 Penny Johnson rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction-for-ya-award

Here's the importance of this book: I grew up literally in the shadow of Port Chicago. The edge of the base was on the other side of the fence from my high school. And I NEVER heard about the Port Chicago 50 until I read an ARC of this book. You would think at least in my junior Social Studies class, where we had an extensive civil rights unit, we would have discussed something that happened in our backyard. But no. After I read the book I asked my mother what she knew about the whole thing, as ...more

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Nov 29, 2014 Renata rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, middle-grade, nonfiction, audiobook

This is a great work of nonfiction and an infuriating story--especially since I listened to it in the wake of the Ferguson decision. The story of these brave black sailors and the conditions they went through just ARGHHHH so inpsiring/annoying!! America!! what the hell!! what the hell!!

Anyway the audiobook was fine, but probably a print book would be preferable because I assume it has some pictures? I will have to check that out to confirm.

anyway, a well-researched, important story that hasn't b ...more

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May 27, 2014 Erica Hafferkamp rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Sheinkin does it again. The master of "amazing-but-true," "How-in-the-world-did-I-not-know-this-before?" nonfiction. It didn't grab me as quickly as Bomb did, but the build-up definitely pays off. No spoilers though! (Which is crazy because you could just go Google what happened! But I would never think to do that because Sheinkin keeps me so wrapped up in the story that I forget things like Google and Wikipedia ever existed. I trust Sheinkin and only Sheinkin to give me this information. Step a ...more

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Jul 03, 2013 Edie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

We all loved Bomb and this book is equally compelling and in this case, convincing. It is a story that has not been previously told to this audience and I think it will make them outraged at the abuses taken by African American men who joined the Navy only to be treated as even less than second class citizens and for whom there was a terrible miscarriage of justice. Thurgood Marshall plays a role here as well. The story is well researched, the men well flushed out, their motives well explained. ...more

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Jul 15, 2020 Lindsey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I love finding books likes this. A story of an event that changed our history yet so few probably know it even happened.

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Jan 21, 2015 Joan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Students of American History, WW II, African American civil rights, Thurgood Marshall info.

Shelves: history, nonfiction, read-in-2015, ya-books, american-history, bob-titles, yalsa-best-nonfiction-award

Sheinkin has done it again: produced another award winner. OK, the awards haven't been announced at this point, but I can't see this not coming in for a King Award. Probably not the winner, I would guess Brown Girl Dreaming has that locked up, judging by all the talk and awards it has already won, but one of the honor books. Possibly a Siebert as well, although again, I suspect an honor, not the winner. It has been an incredible year for nonfiction. If that is due to Common Core, count me a fan Sheinkin has done it again: produced another award winner. OK, the awards haven't been announced at this point, but I can't see this not coming in for a King Award. Probably not the winner, I would guess Brown Girl Dreaming has that locked up, judging by all the talk and awards it has already won, but one of the honor books. Possibly a Siebert as well, although again, I suspect an honor, not the winner. It has been an incredible year for nonfiction. If that is due to Common Core, count me a fan of it. However, I think we had a convergence of the best nonfiction writers all coming out in one year. We'll see. Note: So I am wrong: It got an Honor book for YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults. (This Award gets the award for worst award name. Jeepers. There might be picture books with not as many words as this award name!)

In any case, to the book itself. This is straight American History, and nothing I had ever heard about. It is a shameful blot on the United States. It takes place in Port Chicago (in California, just to confuse things completely) during World War II. A bunch of kids, some drafted, some volunteered, ALL African American, are loading ammo onto ships to go overseas to where the all white guys are fighting for their country. In case that wasn't clear, only untrained, Black guys were loading ammo, one of the most dangerous jobs at the time. And why weren't they trained? Because clearly African Americans didn't have the intellect to learn how to do it correctly! The Navy was completely segregated and there was rampant racism. These kids had signed up to fight, not just be stevedores but as usual with kids, they had no idea what they were getting into. The inevitable happened and over 200 people died from the ammo explosion. Since everything was pretty much obliterated, no one knows precisely what happened but clearly somehow, the ammo exploded. Many of the surviving African Americans were severely injured. This explosion didn't surprise anyone, just terrify them. So, after a few days for recovery and cleanup (NOT pleasant and guess who did the nasty parts? These same kids.) the African Americans were told to line up and march and they came to a T intersection in the road. Right would have meant just safe work. Left meant going back and loading more ammo in exactly the same conditions as before. It was Left. The guys came to a halt and simply wouldn't go any further. They got charged with mutiny. This is a story of injustice, which still has not been overturned. These guys had made it clear they would obey any order except one: they weren't going to load more ammo. Thurgood Marshall got involved, unsuccessfully. As Sheinkin pointed out, all these men are now dead but they have families who keep fighting for their honor.

How Sheinkin found out about this is really a fascinating look at a writer and researcher's life. While researching his prior book, Bomb, his brother in law mentioned the rumors that the bomb had been dropped a year earlier than the official date, at Port Chicago. Which shows you just how spectacular that explosion was! Sheinkin did enough at the time to satisfy himself it was merely rumors, finished up Bomb, and started researching Port Chicago.

This is not a story of glory. It is not pleasant reading. But it is powerful writing and should be part of the school curriculum. It is easy to get the notion that the Civil Rights struggle started and ended with Martin Luther King and that is completely incorrect. It wasn't on purpose, but it was highly appropriate reading for the Martin Luther King birthday week! ...more

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Feb 08, 2015 Jill rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Once again the multiple award-winning author Steve Sheinkin excels at reporting an important (but not widely known) moment in history in a format friendly to younger readers as well as to adults. In this case, the moment he records changed the course of race relations in the U.S.

Port Chicago was a U.S. Navy base in the San Francisco Bay where, during World War II, black sailers were assigned to load bombs and ammunition into ships headed for American troops in the Pacific. All the officers were ...more

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May 11, 2018 Liza Fireman rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebook, shelf-2018, read-from-shelf

I wish that I could say that this book surprised me. I never heard about the Port Chicago 50 before, and I got to this book because it was on a non-fiction list of my sixth grade daughter. It is a story of black sailors in WWII, in a segregated base, discriminated against, and that end up in an unfair charges, and unfair trial.

Black people could not be real sailors, they could only serve as mess attendants and serve the white sailors: Trucks with roof-mounted speakers cruised slowly through Ame I wish that I could say that this book surprised me. I never heard about the Port Chicago 50 before, and I got to this book because it was on a non-fiction list of my sixth grade daughter. It is a story of black sailors in WWII, in a segregated base, discriminated against, and that end up in an unfair charges, and unfair trial.

Black people could not be real sailors, they could only serve as mess attendants and serve the white sailors: Trucks with roof-mounted speakers cruised slowly through American cities, blaring the call to arms: “Patriotic, red-blooded Americans! Join the Navy and help Uncle Sam hit back!” For black Americans this was not so simple. When they volunteered to fight as sailors, they were reminded of the Navy’s long-standing policy. They could serve on ships only as mess attendants.

In units that they could serve on, they were in segregated units in order to not-offend the slave states: The pattern was repeated soon after the Civil War erupted in 1861. At first the United States Army would not accept black men, fearing that to do so would offend the slave states that were still in the Union. Then, as the war dragged on, and the Union’s need for fighting men grew increasingly desperate, the policy changed. More than 200,000 black soldiers fought to save the Union and end slavery—but they did so in segregated units, led by white officers. And they couldn't even join many of the forces: The Marines and Army Air Corps (later renamed the Air Force) did not accept blacks at all until later in the war.

All the white people think and say the black are not as good soldiers.
“Poor Negroes!” one American general wrote in his diary during the war. “Everyone feeling and saying that they are worthless as soldiers.”
When confronted about it the army claimed that they can't change reality in the midst of a war:Frank Knox insisted there was nothing he could do. True, there was an obvious contradiction in a nation fighting for freedom while denying it to its own citizens in the military. But, Secretary Knox explained, segregation and racism were deeply rooted facts of life in American society. These problems were not created by the military and were not the military’s problems to solve. Aboard ships, men were crammed into close quarters, making it impossible to keep the races segregated. Neither could they be integrated, Knox argued, because white sailors wouldn’t work well with black sailors, and certainly wouldn’t take commands from them. To desegregate the Navy, therefore, would hurt the war effort. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox at his desk in 1943. Knox concluded the only solution was to keep black men, other than those working as servants, off ships. The secretary insisted he was not a racist—simply a realist.

I can't say enough about the racism in the army and outside of it. Officers wouldn’t allow black recruits to compete with whites to be electricians, radiomen, and mechanics. Not only they thought they were smart enough, they didn’t even let them try. They couldn't get beer in most places in their time off, and couldn't sit in many buses in most spots.

But the story starts with recruits that did exercised and marched and stood at attention, but were never trained to handle explosives. And then were asked to handle them, load thousands of tons of ammunition, without the minimum training or safety steps. They asked many times if it was safe or could explode: Small heard this, but wasn’t convinced. He asked his lieutenant for a more detailed answer. Delucchi took out a booklet, flipped to a diagram of the 500-pound bomb they were loading and pointed out the detonator, which was attached to the head of the bomb. It was the detonator that triggered the explosion by sending a spark into the TNT packed into the bomb. The bombs the men were loading didn’t have the detonators attached yet. “Won’t concussion blow this thing up?” Small asked. “Impossible,” said Delucchi, pointing again to the diagram.
All the men loading ammunition were black. All the officers were white. And it did explode one day, and blew off the whole dock and killed many people. As one of the black sailors said later: “The reason I was afraid to go down and load ammunition, them officers, the guys down there loading ammunition, racing each division to see who put on the most tonnage, and I knowed the way they was handling ammunition, it was liable to go off again.” Green looked out at the room of stunned faces, and added, “This is my reason for not going down there.” Newspapers rushed to print the story of Green’s unexpected testimony. The Navy responded with a statement denying the charge—there had been no racing and no betting at Port Chicago.

The black sailors didn't want to go back to loading. Some of them did get back after being threatened to be accused with mutiny and get shot. But 50 of them didn't go back, and were accused. Of course nothing gets better then, the court never asked some of the blacks even to testify.

A story worth reading. A story that has a key role in ending segregation in the military, when at February 1946, the Navy became the first branch of the U.S. military to officially eliminate all racial barriers
A little above 3.5 stars. ...more

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Nov 10, 2014 Janelle Fila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

The Port Chicago 50 is the story of 50 African-American men accused of mutiny by the Navy during World War II. Prior to the Civil Rights movement, these men pioneered the desegregation of the military, demanding safe working conditions for African-American soldiers. At the time, African-American were the only soldiers given the menial but dangerous job of loading live bombs onto Navy ships headed to war. Not allowed at sea themselves, these men were pushed to load ammunition faster, with no trai The Port Chicago 50 is the story of 50 African-American men accused of mutiny by the Navy during World War II. Prior to the Civil Rights movement, these men pioneered the desegregation of the military, demanding safe working conditions for African-American soldiers. At the time, African-American were the only soldiers given the menial but dangerous job of loading live bombs onto Navy ships headed to war. Not allowed at sea themselves, these men were pushed to load ammunition faster, with no training on weapons safety or potential hazards. When an explosion erupted at the pier, the Port Chicago 50 refused to return to work and risk their lives until the Navy adopted universal safety measures. In response, the Navy court-martialed the Port Chicago 50 for mutiny. The Navy’s punishment for a mutiny conviction during wartime was death.

What surprised me about this story was the fact that I’d never heard it before. In school we’re taught about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. I read The Butler and voted in 2008 for the change promised by now President Obama. I rooted for Morgan Freeman when he played an African-American soldier in the Civil War movie Glory. But I didn’t realize the real segregation in our Armed Forces during World War II, some eighty years later. I never stopped to consider the hatred, racism, and bigotry American soldiers experienced at the hands of other white American soldiers. One of the chapters that struck me the hardest was when a group of African-American soldiers got stuck overnight in the South. Even in uniform they couldn’t find a place to sleep and were only promised food at a restaurant if they would go around back and eat in the alley. However, a group of prisoners of war were also stuck overnight in the same town, and they were welcomed into the restaurant, given as much food and drink as they wanted. While the prisoners may have been German, they weren’t black.

The Port Chicago 50 was an excellent read, geared for anyone interested in WWII history or the Civil Rights Movement. A non-fiction book for young adults, it is a thin, easy read with short chapters and a fairly fast moving pace (much easier to relate to than a typical WWII monstrosity like The Monument’s Men). The Port Chicago 50 is a finalist for the 2014 National Book Award in the Young People’s Literature category, which was the reason that I picked the book up to read to begin with. And I’m so glad I did. I love entertaining, educational stories that make you think. I will continue thinking about this story for a long time.

This review first appeared at http://www.bibliophiliaplease.com/sea...
...more

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Feb 26, 2016 Connie Kuntz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I had grabbed the book because I saw the word "Chicago" in the title. I thought it was going to be about the city of Chicago. It's not. The Port Chicago 50 is about the brave black men at a naval base near San Francisco in the early 1940's. It follows the "mutiny" of 50 brave black navy soldiers who refused to load ammunition after a deadly explosion.

I read this with the kids. It's a great book that helped the kids (and me) understand (more fully) the following events and people:

Pearl Harbor, ( I had grabbed the book because I saw the word "Chicago" in the title. I thought it was going to be about the city of Chicago. It's not. The Port Chicago 50 is about the brave black men at a naval base near San Francisco in the early 1940's. It follows the "mutiny" of 50 brave black navy soldiers who refused to load ammunition after a deadly explosion.

I read this with the kids. It's a great book that helped the kids (and me) understand (more fully) the following events and people:

Pearl Harbor, (Japan attacks US in Hawaill)
Thurgood Marshall, (black lawyer with a local middle school named after him)
the NAACP, (called when blacks were/are mistreated)
Prison Barge (where Small's "followers" were imprisoned; eventually the 50 referred to in the title)
WWII (the "world" nature of WWII is what undermined the efforts of Small and Marshall)
Eleanor Roosevelt (married to FDR and an activist for black rights)

If you think this sounds like a dry history book, it's not. It's filled with emotion and colorful language and outrage. I don't read out loud with all of the kids (together) as much as I used to now that they are older, so it was a joy for me to get to do so with this book.

I enjoy discussing racism and politics and the government with the kids,so this was a real treat of a book. I also delighted as they delighted in the fact that this book includes the word "motherfucker" and the expression "by the balls."

It does get a little tedious in the courtroom scenes because of the repetitive nature of the defense and prosecution. There is no way around it. Even though it's tedious writing, it is important writing because it helped my kids understand how unfair and maddening the legal system/politics can be, especially if you are poor or black.

There are great black and white pictures from Port Chicago, too. The pictures proved very helpful in learning and memorizing the history. Though this book is a depiction of how unfair and disgusting our country treats black people, it is an important book to read.

Signed,
By the balls, by the ass, by the tail ...more

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Mar 30, 2014 Barbara rated it really liked it

Shelves: bullies, community, heroes, civil-rights, facing-fears, character-building, death, friendship, families, jobs

World War II seemed to offer opportunities for advancement for many African-Americans. But the promise remained simply that--a promise--as military units remained segregated, and many black sailors were given the jobs no one else wanted. This book, another fascinating plunge into a little-known aspect of history by the detail-minded Steve Sheinkin, tells the story of what happened at Port Chicago in 1944. Because the men who were handling explosives for the Navy at its base in the San Francisco ...more

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Mar 08, 2017 Reading is my Escape rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ages-9-12, max, read-2017

This book tells the true story of segregation in the Navy during World War II. African Americans who joined the Navy to serve their country were not allowed to serve on ships. People thought they weren't smart or brave enough. But only the black men were given the job of loading ammunition onto the ships. This was a dangerous job and the men weren't even give the proper training. The officers bet on their crews to see who could load the fastest. Inevitably, an explosion occurred and many men wer ...more

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Mar 16, 2014 Alicia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: war, adult, male, historical, politics-justice, black, action, nonfiction

The topic is interesting enough because it's a little-discussed piece of history. Black men in the NAVY are assigned to loading ammunition and explosives at the Port Chicago in California with little training because that was one of only very few options they had in the NAVY. As expected, the explosives explode and take out several hundred people and leave several hundred more injured by flying glass, metal, etc. Once all was said and done, fifty of the seamen decided that they would not comply ...more

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Jan 11, 2017 Reading is my Escape rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, history, civil-rights

Port Chicago 50

This book tells the true story of segregation in the Navy during World War II. African Americans who joined the Navy to serve their country were not allowed to serve on ships. People thought they weren't smart or brave enough. But only the black men were given the job of loading ammunition onto the ships. This was a dangerous job and the men weren't even give the proper training. The officers bet on their crews to see who could load the fastest. Inevitably, an explosion occurre ...more

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Mar 20, 2016 Jennifer Mangler rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: history, nonfiction

Once again, as a student of history, I'm surprised to learn of an important chapter I had never heard about before. Why? This is the kind of book that makes me angry and proud at the same time: angry at the injustice suffered by so many for so long; proud of the people who were brave enough to stand up for themselves despite the costs. They are what I love about America, and they are the reason our country is as good as it is. "All men are created equal" is an ideal we have failed to live up to, ...more

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Feb 08, 2014 Kristine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ww2-holocaust, political-biz-econ-ish, mock-newbery, non-fic, young-adult, civil-rights-slavery, war, battle-of-the-books-2015

I am so glad I took the time to read this book. So many unsung heroes in the civil rights movement. This was well written and researched, but just doesn't have quite enough oomph for that 5th star, like I have his other book, Bomb.

My favorite quote: It was frustrating work, but Marshall cautioned fellow African Americans against turning bitter or losing hope. as rough as things were in the United States, he argued, they'd be a lot worse under the dictators America was fighting in World War II. ...more

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Feb 06, 2014 Tanya rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Spellbinding true story of an important chapter in the racial struggle in the United States. I had no idea that the Navy was the first branch of the military to integrate. Thanks to these men who had the courage to stand up for themselves. Well written.

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Jul 05, 2013 Angela added it

Shelves: young-adult, nonfiction, 2013

This is eligible for my Printz year, so I'm not going to review or rate it here. ...more

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Jan 29, 2014 Alex Baugh rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: world-war-2

When the United States went to war in 1941, a lot of people immediately signed up to serve their country. After all, they were Americans and their country was now in peril. And so millions of Americans went to war to fight to defend the freedoms they enjoyed so much. African Americans signed up to defend their country as well, but things weren't quite the same for them. Instead of receiving the honor and respect they deserved, African Americans faced the same discrimination and segregation in th When the United States went to war in 1941, a lot of people immediately signed up to serve their country. After all, they were Americans and their country was now in peril. And so millions of Americans went to war to fight to defend the freedoms they enjoyed so much. African Americans signed up to defend their country as well, but things weren't quite the same for them. Instead of receiving the honor and respect they deserved, African Americans faced the same discrimination and segregation in the armed forces that they had lived with in civilian life. And, naturally, they were given the lowest jobs available. In the Navy, that usually meant serving in the mess as a cook or being on permanent clean up detail.

But in 1943, the Navy sent a group of African Americans to Port Chicago in northern California. There, they loaded huge cargoes of ammunition onto waiting ships. The men immediately noticed that only African Americans were doing this potentially dangerous job, although they had to be supervised by white Naval officers, since the Navy didn't have an black officers.

Then, on July 17, 1944 at 10:18 PM, as a second shift of men were loading the ammunition, an explosion occurred that was felt for miles around and which killed 320 men instantly. Among that number were 202 African Americans. At first, everyone thought the explosion was an enemy attack, but they soon realized what had happened.

A few weeks after being moved to another port, the surviving men were ordered back to loading ammunition. Afraid of what had happened to their friends at Port Chicago, 258 African American sailors refused to obey the order. In fact, they were willing to obey any other order, but that one. After being told to pack their gear, they were crowded onto a prison barge. Eventually, most of the men would return to their jobs. In the end, 50 sailors would be charged with mutiny and court marshaled. And in the trial that followed, they would be found guilty, even though it was clear that the trial was biased, the judge taking the word of the white officers over that of the black sailors.

NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall watched the trial closely and when the guilty verdict was announced, immediately started preparing an appeal. And though the appeal was not successful, the 50 sailors were eventually returned to active service, though they carried the stigma of mutiny throughout their lives.

And yet, Steven Sheinkin contends, these 50 sailors did more for changing the civil rights of African Americans serving their country than they are given credit for, eventually helping to remove the practice of discrimination and segregation in ALL branches of the armed services.

Sheinkin has done it again. First with Bomb: the Race to Build - and Steal - the World's Most Dangerous Weapon, now with The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny and the Fight for Civil Rights. The moment I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Sheinkin has once again written an exciting nonfiction narrative about a little know part of American history. In The Port Chicago 50, he brings to life many of the men involved, especially Joe Small, whom the Navy considered to be the ringleader of the mutiny. You will meet other unforgettable men in this book, some heroic, some a bit scoundrelly. But they will all rivet you to their story.

As with all good nonfiction, there are plenty of photographs throughout the book, along with the names of each of the 50 sailors listed in the front matter. Back matter includes extensive source notes, as well as works cited, a list of oral histories and documentaries used and the records of the U.S. Navy regarding the Port Chicago explosion and subsequent trial.

The Port Chicago 50 is a well written, well documented addition to the history of African Americans, their history of the Navy and the history of Civil Rights and a book not to be missed.

This book is recommended for readers age 12+
This book was borrowed from the NYPL

This review was originally posted at The Children's War ...more

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May 07, 2014 Richie Partington rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

Richie's Picks: THE PORT CHICAGO 50: DISASTER, MUTINY, AND THE FIGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS by Steve Sheinkin, Roaring Brook, January 2014, 208p., ISBN: 978-1-59643-796-8

At the conclusion of THE PORT CHICAGO 50, author Steve Sheinkin points out that the fifty defendants in this racist miscarriage of military justice are all now deceased, and so it is too late to fully remedy what was done to them. Nevertheless, as the author notes, there are people who know the story who are still seeking to exonerat ...more

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Apr 10, 2015 Barb Middleton rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: courage, wwii, nonfiction-narrative, civil-rights, african-american

Steve Sheinkin is one of my favorite historical writers. His narrative nonfiction writing has the drama and characters found in any fiction novel, with spot-on pacing, and meticulous research. Don't miss this one. Set during World War II, the Navy has changed policies so that blacks can enlist, but this does not mean equality. Instead, Sheinkin reveals the institutionalized racism in American society, military, and government showing how a small group of fifty men, out of fear, were one of the p Steve Sheinkin is one of my favorite historical writers. His narrative nonfiction writing has the drama and characters found in any fiction novel, with spot-on pacing, and meticulous research. Don't miss this one. Set during World War II, the Navy has changed policies so that blacks can enlist, but this does not mean equality. Instead, Sheinkin reveals the institutionalized racism in American society, military, and government showing how a small group of fifty men, out of fear, were one of the players in changing attitudes toward African Americans.

In July 1944, an explosion so huge it was mistaken for an earthquake happened at Port Chicago, as sailors were loading munitions on ships. Over 200 black men and 100 white men died at the pier. Only African Americans were assigned to load munitions and after the explosion hundreds tried to voice their fears regarding the dangerous job. No one listened. Unsafe conditions continued and Sheinkin shows how the African Americans were exploited by the Navy. As the men were being marched to load ammunition on another ship after the explosion that killed over 300 men, hundreds refused to go. But when they Navy threatened to charge them with mutiny and shoot them, only fifty were brave enough to continue to take a stand.

A court trial ensued showing the deep prejudices that were prevalent at the time. The courtroom drama and the lawyers building their cases captures the legal processes. Not all of the text is heavy. Sheinkin balances some light moments. The ending has a funny story of how a black sailor made best friends with a white sailor by fighting him. The fight ended up with them both respecting each other and the white sailor saying he learned that "a man is a man" regardless of skin color. Other interesting asides were Eleanor Roosevelt following the case and putting pressure on the Navy officer who could change things and Thurgood Marshall working on behalf of the men in the early stages of his famous career.

History shows that at times when an injustice occurs on the magnitude of the conviction of the Port Chicago sailors, people find the courage to stand up and protest the mockery of it. While these young sailors, many teenagers, didn't realize the significance they would have on history at the time in changing the plight of African Americans, they did not regret their actions as old men as the Epilogue explains. It also shows when the justice system fails to protect basic rights. While this book isn't as complex as "Bomb," it is just as compelling and will reach a younger audience. The primary photographs, graphics, oral histories, documentaries, and Navy documents make it an impressive work. Men stood up for what was wrong at great personal risk. This story is worth noting. ...more

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Dec 16, 2014 Angie rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical, nonfiction, audiobooks, middle-grade

Segregation and racism were alive and well during WWII. That didn't stop thousands of young black men from joining the military to fight for their country. Almost all of these men were assigned menial jobs and deemed not fit for combat. In the Navy, that meant stateside duties instead of serving on ships. This book is about the group of men who loaded ammunition onto war ships at Port Chicago. They were all black with white officers. The men had no training in munitions or ship loading. The cond ...more

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Feb 28, 2014 Miriam rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Here is the story of a grave injustice and it is an injustice that has been left to stand, so I finished the book with an unhappy, bitter taste in my mouth. Sheinkin's research is deep (and nicely-sourced in the end matter) and the text is filled with the actual words of several of the 50 men found guilty of mutiny because they refused to load munitions in an environment devoid of safety precautions and regard for human life during WWII. The men were justifiably in fear of their lives, having be ...more

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Jan 05, 2015 Julia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-books

I grew up literally a few hours from this base and never heard this story. Ever. The fact that so many pre-Civil Rights era stories are surfacing about people involved in similar struggles (I'm thinking Claudette Colvin and the 555th Parachute Infantry Batallion) makes this book timely as well as historically important. The prose is written appropriately for children and explains context and adult situations (like social implications of microaggressions and the significance of lawyers making a p ...more

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Dec 06, 2014 Jo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, young-adult

During World War II, when the Navy was segregated, many black sailors were assigned the duty of loading bombs onto ships at Port Chicago. An explosion on July 17, 1944 killed 320 men at Port Chicago. Although the cause was unknown, it is possible that lack of education for the sailors about how to handle the bombs, as well as pressure to hurry from the officers (all of them white) may have contributed to the incident. When ordered to return to work under the same conditions, 50 sailors refused t ...more

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Feb 21, 2014 Ms. Yingling rated it liked it

Sheinkin has a good eye for picking interesting topics for nonfiction, and his research is tireless. The primary source documents and photos bring this story of segregation and prejudice during World War II a startling immediacy. Background information about the role of black soldiers in conflicts before and after WWII puts this in perspective, as do the late life updates about some of the individuals involved. That said, this struck me (as much of Sheinkin's work does) as almost too complete fo ...more

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May 24, 2016 David rated it liked it · review of another edition

For adult readers this book is on the slightly superficial, one-dimensional side. But it's geared towards middle school readers and for that crowd I would rate this a solid 4 and recommend it as very good introduction to adult nonfiction.

The story here revolves around a WWII U.S. Navy civil rights problem which was previously unknown to me. The story itself is good and the book is fast paced, uncomplicated and highly readable. Some parts were a bit choppy as it seemed to me the author was trying ...more

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Jun 08, 2017 John Yingling rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Once again, Steve Sheinkin has written a first-rate book of history. His is an excellent storyteller, as well as a great researcher and historian. This book is about a little-known (to me at least) part of American history that took place during World War II. And it is a sad part of history, in that it details how African-Americans in the military were degraded, misused, and most definitely considered second-class people and not given any respect as sailors and as people. But thank goodness ther ...more

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About Steve Sheinkin

Steve Sheinkin

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From: http://stevesheinkin.com/about/

I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and my family lived in Mississippi and Colorado before moving back to New York and settling in the suburbs north of New York City. As a kid my favorite books were action stories and outdoor adventures: sea stories, searches for buried treasure, sharks eating people… that kind of thing. Probably my all-time favorite was a book called From: http://stevesheinkin.com/about/

I was born in Brooklyn, NY, and my family lived in Mississippi and Colorado before moving back to New York and settling in the suburbs north of New York City. As a kid my favorite books were action stories and outdoor adventures: sea stories, searches for buried treasure, sharks eating people… that kind of thing. Probably my all-time favorite was a book called Mutiny on the Bounty, a novel based on the true story of a famous mutiny aboard a British ship in the late 1700s.

I went to Syracuse University and studied communications and international relations. The highlight of those years was a summer I spent in Central America, where I worked on a documentary on the streets of Nicaragua.

After college I moved to Washington, D.C., and worked for an environmental group called the National Audubon Society. Then, when my brother Ari graduated from college a few years later, we decided to move to Austin, Texas, and make movies together. We lived like paupers in a house with a hole in the floor where bugs crawled in. We wrote some screenplays, and in 1995 made our own feature film, a comedy called A More Perfect Union (filing pictured below), about four young guys who decide to secede from the Union and declare their rented house to be an independent nation. We were sure it was going to be a huge hit; actually we ended up deep in debt.

After that I moved to Brooklyn and decided to find some way to make a living as a writer. I wrote short stories, screenplays, and worked on a comic called The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey. In 2006, after literally hundreds of rejections, my first Rabbi Harvey graphic novel was finally published.

Meanwhile, I started working for an educational publishing company, just for the money. We’d hire people to write history textbooks, and they’d send in their writing, and it was my job to check facts and make little edits to clarify the text. Once in a while I was given the chance to write little pieces of textbooks, like one-page biographies or skills lessons. “Understanding Bar Graphs” was one of my early works. The editors noticed that my writing was pretty good. They started giving me less editing to do, and more writing. Gradually, I began writing chapters for textbooks, and that turned into my full-time job. All the while, I kept working on my own writing projects.

In 2008 I wrote my last textbook. I walked away, and shall never return. My first non-textbook history book was King George: What Was His Problem? – full of all the stories about the American Revolution that I was never allowed to put into textbooks. But looking back, I actually feel pretty lucky to have spent all those years writing textbooks. It forced me to write every day, which is great practice. And I collected hundreds of stories that I can’t wait to tell.

These days, I live with my wife, Rachel, and our two young kids in Saratoga Springs, New York. We’re right down the road from the Saratoga National Historical Park, the site of Benedict Arnold’s greatest – and last – victory in an American uniform. But that’s not why I moved here. Honestly. ...more

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“At some time, every Negro in the armed services asks himself what he is getting for the supreme sacrifice he is called upon to make.” —Pittsburgh Courier, November 9, 1944” — 3 likes

“The fact that these men were wearing the uniform of the United States Navy made no difference.” — 2 likes

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