Port Chicago Disaster 1944

During World War II, a single explosion wiped out 15% of all African American casualties in the war. In 1944, at Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California, officers forced mostly Black sailors, without proper training, to load live munitions onto ships. The inevitable happened: the dock blew apart in the world's largest explosion before the atom bomb, killing 320 sailors instantly.

The Navy initially asked Congress to award $5,000 to each victim's family. But when a congressman realized most of the dead were Black sailors, he successfully slashed the payout to $3,000.

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