WEBVTT - 072724 Way Black History Fact - The Port Chicago 50

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<v Speaker 1>Right now, it's time for the Way Black History Fact.

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<v Speaker 1>And today's Way Black History Fact is sponsored by Major

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<v Speaker 1>Threats for Innovative Fashionable Sports where Checkmajors, Threads dot Com

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<v Speaker 1>and today it's going to be a little different. This

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<v Speaker 1>is a little bit of Ebony excellence in Way Black

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<v Speaker 1>History Fact. But it comes from Baba and Baba Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>comes from ABC News. The US Navy has exonerated two

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and fifty six sailors who are unjustly court martialed

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen forty four following the Port Chicago explosion in

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<v Speaker 1>California that killed three hundred and twenty people. The sailors

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<v Speaker 1>had been punished for refusing to go back to work

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<v Speaker 1>in what they considered to be an unsafe environment. Their

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<v Speaker 1>prosecution took place at a time when the US military

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<v Speaker 1>was still segregated, and reflected the unfair treatment of black

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<v Speaker 1>sailors experienced. The two hundred and fifty six sailors were

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<v Speaker 1>exonerated by Navory's secretary, Carlos Del Toro on the eightieth

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<v Speaker 1>anniversary of the accidental, deadly World War two era blast,

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<v Speaker 1>which also injured four hundred other people. The explosion at

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<v Speaker 1>an ammunition loading area also damaged two ships and a train,

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<v Speaker 1>and caused damage to the nearby town of Port Chicago,

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<v Speaker 1>located east of Oakland, California. Theltoral's exoneration carries more weight

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<v Speaker 1>than a pardon, which acknowledges guilt. Instead, the exoneration will

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<v Speaker 1>vacate all of the court martials of the two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and fifty six sailors that they had to go through. Quote. Today,

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<v Speaker 1>the Department of Defense has moved to rectify an old

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<v Speaker 1>injustice and face up to face up to a painful

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<v Speaker 1>episode in our own history. Quote. Defense Secretary Lord Austin

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<v Speaker 1>said in a statement, the sailors quote refused to keep

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<v Speaker 1>loading munitions in the same unsafe and inhumane conditions that

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<v Speaker 1>contributed to the catastrophe. Unquote, he said, adding that decades later,

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<v Speaker 1>the military recognized recognizes the sailors were right and the

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<v Speaker 1>segregated navy that unnecessarily risked their lives was wrong. Sorry,

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<v Speaker 1>all right. What happened after that deadly explosion reflected the

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<v Speaker 1>double standards experienced by white and black personnel in the

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<v Speaker 1>segregated military at the time. White supervising officers at Port

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<v Speaker 1>Chicago were given hardship leave, while the surviving Black sailors

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<v Speaker 1>they commanded in the segregated units that loaded the ammunition

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<v Speaker 1>were ordered back to work at the port, which had

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<v Speaker 1>been functioning around the clock to get ammunition in US

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<v Speaker 1>troops on the front lines. Expressing safety concerns about their

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<v Speaker 1>workplace in the wake of the deadly blast, two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and fifty eight black sailors refused to return to work

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<v Speaker 1>handling dangerous ammunitions after threats of disciplinary action. Two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and eight of the sailors returned to work, but they

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<v Speaker 1>still received summary court martials for disobeying orders and received

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<v Speaker 1>a bad conduct discharge and forfeiture of three months pay.

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<v Speaker 1>Fifty sailors who refused to return to work were convicted

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<v Speaker 1>and charged with mutiny. They have become known as the

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<v Speaker 1>Port Chicago fifty. In a mass court martial, these sailors

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<v Speaker 1>were sentenced to dishonorable discharge, fifteen years confinement at hard labor,

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<v Speaker 1>a reduction in rank, and a total forfeiture of their pay.

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<v Speaker 1>Later reviews of the general court martial resulted in a

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<v Speaker 1>suspension of the discharges and reduced a period of confinement

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<v Speaker 1>from fifteen years to seventeen to twenty nine months were

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<v Speaker 1>later cleared. By January nineteen forty six, nearly all the

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<v Speaker 1>sailors have been released and were given the opportunity to

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<v Speaker 1>finish their military service contracts. Del Toro's decision to exonerate

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<v Speaker 1>the two hundred and fifty six sailors follows a legal

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<v Speaker 1>review by the Navy's General Council. They found significant legal

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<v Speaker 1>errors during the court martial, including trying all them together

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<v Speaker 1>despite conflicting interests, as well as the denial of what

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<v Speaker 1>the name we called meaningful right to counsel. All the

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<v Speaker 1>sailors who were convicted following the blast are now deceased,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Navy is asking any possible descendants to reach

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<v Speaker 1>out to the branch for future notifications about the incident.

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<v Speaker 1>And yes, they're all deceased, and it's a way black

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<v Speaker 1>history fact, that's the name of the segment. But still

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<v Speaker 1>right is right and making setting the record straight is

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<v Speaker 1>not nothing. And also we didn't know about this story,

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<v Speaker 1>and so we thought it was important to share it

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<v Speaker 1>with you. This is modern news that is based on

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<v Speaker 1>an old story, so we thought you guys would enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>that