Port Chicago 50 by Steve Sheinkin

 Sheinkin, S. (2014). The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, mutiny, and the fight for civil rights.  New York: Roaring Book Press.
This book is a YALSA nonfiction award winner.  YALSA's Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year.
An astonishing civil rights story from Newbery Honor winner and National Book Award finalist Steve Sheinkin.
On July 17, 1944, a massive explosion rocked the segregated Navy base at Port Chicago, California, killing more than 300 sailors who were at the docks, critically injuring off-duty men in their bunks, and shattering windows up to a mile away. On August 9th, 244 men refused to go back to work until unsafe and unfair conditions at the docks were addressed. When the dust settled, fifty were charged with mutiny, facing decades in jail and even execution. This is a fascinating story of the prejudice that faced black men and women in America's armed forces during World War II, and a nuanced look at those who gave their lives in service of a country where they lacked the most basic rights.
Lesson plans:

 

Hold a Civil Rights forum in your class with students acting as the panel of “guest speakers”

(see below). Through independent and group research, as well as class discussion, students will

prepare to answer questions as their assigned historical figures and discuss their roles in and

views of the Port Chicago explosion and subsequent trial.

Suggested historical figures to assign as “guest speakers” are:

Joe Small, Thurgood Marshall, Spencer Sikes, Dorie Miller, Secretary Frank Knox, President

Roosevelt, Lieutenant Ernest Delucchi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Robert Edwards, Corporal Rupert

Trimmingham, Commander Joseph Tobin, Admiral Carleton Wright, James Forrestal, Lieutenant

Commander James Coakley, Rear Admiral Hugh Osterhaus, Lieutenant Gerald Veltmann,

President Truman

Step 1: To build sufficient background knowledge needed to prepare for the panel,

have the class view and discuss the Labor Movement as detailed at this site,

http://www.history.com/topics/labor and do a close reading of pages 29–37 in the book. Students

should learn what the sailors on the docks experienced, and how those experiences compare

to the struggles workers experienced during the Labor Movement. As a class discuss how this

movement might have influenced the Port Chicago 50’s decisions after the explosion.

Step 2: Instruct students to do independent research on their assigned historical figure by using

Sheinkin’s book and at least three other sources. They are to gather evidence that helps them

understand the motivations of their historical figure.

Step 3: Each student is to write a page of notes detailing their historical figure’s behavior before

and after the explosion and what they believe to be the reasons behind it. They should bring

these notes to class on the day of the forum.

Step 4: On the day of the forum, ask student audience members to write down at least two

questions they would like to ask the guest speakers. Students take on the role of guest speakers

and sit in front of the audience. Each introduces him/herself and the class begins by asking

questions to the guest speakers. Guest speakers answer and defend their positions as best they

can and express their motivations for their words and actions before and after the explosion.

Step 5: As a conclusion to the panel, students choose one “guest speaker” and write a reflection

from the point of view of that historical figure explaining whether or not he/she has any regrets.