The Port Chicago 50

 

Author: Steve Sheinkin

Genre: Historical Nonfiction

Grade level/ Age level: Grades 5-9 / Age: 10-14

Summary:  

Port Chicago 50 is a nonfiction book about 50 African American sailors, most of whom were teenagers, fighting against prejudice, discrimination and injustice in the United States armed forces. After a massive explosion killed more than 300 sailors on the segregated Port Chicago Navy base, these sailors stood up against injustice and refused to return to unsafe working conditions, unless they were addressed. With great detail, direct quotes and photographs, this book retells the story of how 50 young sailors fought for their basic civil rights with the help of organizations such as the N.A.A.C.P. and their lawyer and future Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall.

Element 4, Social Movements and Social Change:

Serving in the U.S. military as an African American in the 1940s meant you were treated as a second class citizen being segregated and oppressed, even though you were risking your life for your country. The story of the Port Chicago 50 teaches readers how to use social capital to fight for their basic civil rights. The refusal of these 50 black sailors to return to unsafe working conditions after a massive explosion, with the consequence of being arrested or worse, shows resistance capital. Their actions and those who joined with them, in a legal battle against the U.S. military, shows how ordinary individuals can band together and begin a movement to create social change. The heroism of their actions eventually led to the ending of segregation in the Navy, the first branch of the U.S. military, in 1946. 

Activity:

This book can be used in social studies curricula, to teach about the civil rights movement and how it has shaped the ways we fight for social change today. Students in grades 5 and 6 can do activities to compare and contrast different events of the civil rights movement to the events and actions in Port Chicago 50.  They can also write articles and/or social media posts, including the photos from the book , to address issues of injustice in the military, as if it were happening in the present. In these editorial articles or posts, they can take on the role of an N.A.A.C.P. lawyer/activist, a Navy officer, or an ordinary citizen. For ELA curriculum, students can develop persuasive arguments for another social issue of their choice, and apply what they have learned about social movements for change. 

Teacher Resources:

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