Museum offers PORT CHICAGO online resources
Treasure Island Museum expands its service to the academic community with a portfolio of open-access online resources that can be used to study or teach the story of the Port Chicago 50.
In 1944, the US Navy charged 50 Black sailors with mutiny for refusing to load munitions following an explosion at Port Chicago, near Concord, which killed 320 people, mostly Black enlisted men. The Port Chicago 50 were wrongly convicted and only recently exonerated. Click on the titles below to learn more about this turning point in the civil rights movement.
(This online exhibition is a collaboration of the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, the San Francisco Public Library, and the Treasure Island Museum, with support from the Treasure Island Development Authority and funding from the Historic Preservation Fund of the City of San Francisco.)
(The location of the disaster, two massive explosions killing 320 men of which 202 were Black sailors, is a federal National Memorial. But the exact site of the ensuing trial convicting 50 Black sailors of mutiny was never recorded and had been considered unknown, precluding its recognition. This research paper presents newly compiled evidence that points to the location of the trial and its significance.)
(Cross Media International, a professional video production company with offices and studio space on Treasure Island, documented the dedication and unveiling ceremony last month. This video features remarks made by Dr. Tyler Bamford from the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington DC, as well as Carol Cherry and Deborah Sheppard, daughters of Cyril Sheppard, one of the Port Chicago 50.)
VISIT THE OUTDOOR PORT CHICAGO EXHIBITION
Treasure Island Museum partnered with the Treasure Island Development Group, Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, East Bay Regional Park District, Treasure Island Development Authority, and Hood Design Studio to create the only permanent monument honoring the Port Chicago 50 that is fully accessible to the public; it was dedicated and unveiled in Panorama Park on Yerba Buena Island earlier this year.
In addition to the Port Chicago monument, Panorama Park features spectacular views of the city, both bridges, and the East Bay Hills.
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