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| "The Port Chicago Series" (Baptism, Measured, Machine, The Forgotten), Port Chicago is named for the infamous Bay Area facility, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine. Located on Suisun Bay between Martinez and Bay Point, it was where munitions were loaded in World War II. In July 1944 a shipment exploded, injuring and killing hundreds of mostly black enlisted men. The Navy blamed the men for the explosion and later imprisoned some 50 who refused to work because of unsafe conditions. Thurgood Marshall was their defense counsel. Most of “the Port Chicago 50” were released, but were not exonerated for decades. Port Chicago only recently became a state park. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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