[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 117 (Thursday, July 18, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E740]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   EXONERATION OF THE PORT CHICAGO 50

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 2024

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to thank Secretary of the 
Navy Carlos Del Toro for exonerating the Port Chicago 50 after a second 
review of their case since 1994, correcting 80 years of injustice. As 
the Congressman for Port Chicago, California, I am pleased that justice 
delayed is no longer justice denied for these American veterans of 
World War II and their families.
  On July 17, 1944, a tragic munitions explosion at the Port Chicago 
Naval Magazine killed 320 sailors and civilian workers, the majority of 
whom were African American. While white officers were given time off 
following the accident, white Navy officers ordered African American 
sailors to return to work in the same unsafe conditions that killed 
their fellow servicemembers. When 50 of these men refused, they were 
wrongfully charged with mutiny and convicted in a hastily conducted 
trial overshadowed by the scourge of racism.
  The convictions of the Port Chicago 50 were not just a miscarriage of 
justice; they were emblematic of the broader racial prejudice that 
African Americans faced within the military and society at large, even 
while serving in their country's uniform or contributing to the war 
effort on the Homefront as civilian workers. These men stood against 
dangerous conditions and racial discrimination, maintaining their 
innocence up until their deaths decades later.
  Public outrage over their Navy trail and conviction lead to the U.S. 
Navy becoming the first military service branch to officially 
desegregate in 1946, helping to civil rights for all Americans. 
President Truman ordered the desegregation of all U.S. military service 
branches in 1948. In 1999, President Clinton pardoned Freddie Meeks, 
one of the three surviving sailors of the Port Chicago 50 and the only 
to request one. The two other surviving sailors declined a presidential 
pardon, refusing to ask for clemency for a crime for which they were 
wrongfully convicted. All three men have since passed away.
  Exoneration of the Port Chicago 50 is a long overdue step in 
addressing historical injustices and affirming our national commitment 
to equality for all service members and all Americans regardless of 
race or creed. Now, 80 years later, the families of the Port Chicago 50 
finally have closure and justice. I am proud to stand with the families 
of these World War II veterans and my colleagues, Representatives Mark 
DeSaulnier and Barbara Lee, in celebrating this historic moment. By 
exonerating them, we honor their memory and rightful place in American 
history, ensuring their legacy is remembered with dignity and as early 
leaders who helped to inspire what later became the American civil 
rights movement.

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