IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 616 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the necessity 

to publically exonerate the African American sailors of the United States 

Navy who were tried and convicted of mutiny in connection with their 

service at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Concord, California, 

during World War II in order to further aid in healing the racial 

divide that continues to exist in the United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 23, 2016 

Mr. DESAULNIER (for himself and Ms. LEE) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the necessity to publically exonerate the African 

American sailors of the United States Navy who were 

tried and convicted of mutiny in connection with their 

service at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Concord, 

California, during World War II in order to further 

aid in healing the racial divide that continues to exist 

in the United States. 

Whereas, on July 17, 1944, the deadliest home-front disaster 

of World War II occurred at the Port Chicago Naval 

Magazine in Concord, California, when an explosion at 

the naval facility killed or wounded 710 people, 435 of 

whom were African-American; 


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Whereas this single stunning disaster accounted for more 

than 15 percent of all African-American naval casualties 

during World War II; 

Whereas, after the disaster, 258 African-American survivors 

of the explosion refused to resume the loading and unloading of ammunition at the naval facility, citing inadequate training and the use of unsafe practices; 

Whereas, according to a United States Navy report, ‘‘the actual work of loading ammunition and explosives aboard 

the ships was performed exclusively by Afro-Americans 

under the supervision of white officers and Afro-American petty officers’’; 

Whereas, according to a United States Navy report, ‘‘the routine assignment of Afro-American enlisted personnel to 

manual labor was clearly motivated by race and premised 

upon the mistaken notion that they were intellectually inferior and thus incapable of meeting the same standards 

as their white counterparts’’; 

Whereas one of the ships was loaded with some 4,600 tons 

of ammunition and high explosives, some weighing 650 

pounds with activating mechanisms or fuses installed; 

Whereas at that time there was no formal training in safe 

methods of ammunition handling given to enlisted men; 

Whereas the Navy failed to adequately provide these enlisted 

men with the tools necessary to operate under safe working conditions, even after the explosion occurred; 

Whereas, weeks before the explosion, the longshoremen’s 

union warned the Navy that there would be a disaster if 

the Navy continued to use untrained seamen to load ammunition, and offered to send experienced longshoremen 


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to train Navy recruits in safe handling of ammunition, 

but this offer was ignored by the Navy; 

Whereas subsequent research has confirmed the use of unsafe 

ammunition loading methods at the naval facility at the 

time and has documented the existence of pervasive racial 

prejudice in the United States Navy during World War 

II; 

Whereas according to the book ‘‘The Port Chicago Mutiny’’ 

by Dr. Robert Allen, a worker described Port Chicago as 

a ‘‘slave outfit,’’ adding that ‘‘we were considered a cheap 

labor force from the beginning’’; 

Whereas White officers would encourage African-American 

sailors to compete while loading ammunition and explosives while officers placed bets among themselves; 

Whereas following the explosion, many of the African-American survivors expected to be granted survivors’ leave before being reassigned to regular duty; 

Whereas such leaves were not granted, even for those who 

had been hospitalized, and all African-American men 

were to be sent back to work loading ammunition under 

the same officers as before; 

Whereas White officers were allowed to go home for 30-day 

leaves; 

Whereas 50 sailors of the United States Navy, all AfricanAmerican men, ultimately were tried and convicted of 

mutiny for failing to obey orders to resume loading activities; 

Whereas a refusal to work is a passive act of resistance without intent to seize power; 


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Whereas a mutiny is active revolt with the intent of taking 

charge; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall, then a chief counsel for the 

NAACP, was reported as stating he saw no reason why 

the men should be tried for mutiny, which implies a mass 

conspiracy, rather than on lesser charges of individual 

subordination; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall blasted the trial by stating that 

the defendants were being tried for mutiny ‘‘solely because of their race and color’’; 

Whereas the Navy has concluded that there can be ‘‘no doubt 

that racial prejudice was responsible for the posting of 

Afro-American enlisted personnel to the loading divisions 

at Port Chicago’’; 

Whereas similar racial prejudicial bias has been documented 

in the conduct of the trial that resulted in the court-martial of the sailors at Port Chicago; 

Whereas virtually all of the convicted sailors were released 

from prison early in 1946 and discharged ‘‘under honorable conditions,’’ and that the Navy announced then that 

race would no longer be a factor in filling its jobs; 

Whereas, in 1999, Freddie Meeks was pardoned by President 

Bill Clinton in recognition of the injustice he suffered as 

one of the convicted sailors; 

Whereas Mr. Meeks said at the time of his pardon, ‘‘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.’’; 


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Whereas, in 2003, the National Park Service dedicated the 

Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial at the 

disaster site; 

Whereas the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial is not only a tribute to the 320 men who died in this 

World War II explosion, but it also became the touchstone for desegregation in the military and the beginning 

of civil rights for all Americans; 

Whereas in a July 17, 2014, letter recognizing the 70th anniversary of the tragedy, President Barack Obama, in regards to the African-American sailors at Port Chicago, 

stated ‘‘faced with tremendous obstacles, they fought on 

two fronts—for freedom and equality at home’’; and 

Whereas while all sailors involved in the Port Chicago cases 

have passed away, family members and friends continue 

to request that the sailors be cleared of all charges: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) the trial and conviction of 50 African-Amer4 ican sailors of the United States Navy for mutiny in 

5 connection with their service at the Port Chicago 

6 Naval Magazine in Concord, California, during 

7 World War II were wrongfully pursued because of 

8 racial prejudice, as evidenced by the racial bias in 

9 the Navy’s original findings in their cases and the 

10 different treatment afforded to the convicted sailors’ 

11 White counterparts and officers; and 


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1 (2) Congress should publically exonerate the 50 

2 Navy sailors in order to further aid in healing the 

3 racial divide that continues to exist in the United 

4 States. 

Æ 


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