The Port Chicago 50

by Steve Sheinkin
Lexile:  950
Genre:  Informational

What occurred on July 17, 1944?  I had no idea that this was an important date in WWII history until I read this book.  July 17, 1944 is the date of the Port Chicago explosion that killed 320 serviceman and injured hundreds more.  The majority of those killed and injured were black sailors who had been ordered to load bombs and ammunition onto warships.  After the explosion, 50 of them decided that they were unable to continue to obey these orders.  The Navy responded by calling it mutiny and put them in prison.  This book is the remarkable story of the Port Chicago 50’s attempts to prevail against prejudice and injustice at a time when they were willingly risking their lives to help the war effort.