,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #abf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,february #ac1      
#bjai,mr4 ,de,saulnier 7for himself and 
,ms4 ,lee of ,california7 submitted the 
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,armed ,services  
,,resolution  ,expressing the sense of  
the ,house of ,representatives regarding
 the necessity to publically exonerate  
the ,african-,american sailors of the   
,united ,states ,navy who were tried and
 convicted of mutiny in connection with 
their service at the ,port ,chicago     
,naval ,magazine in ,concord1           
,california1 during ,world ,war ,,ii in 
order to further aid in healing the     
racial divide that continues to exist in
 the ,united ,states4  ,whereas1 on     
,july #ag1 #aidd1 the deadliest         
home-front disaster of ,world ,war ,,ii 
occurred at the ,port ,chicago ,naval   
,magazine in ,concord1 ,california1 when
 an explosion at the naval facility     
killed or wounded #gaj people1 #dce of  

whom were ,african-,american2 ,whereas  
this single stunning disaster accounted 
for more than #ae percent of all        
,african-,american naval casualties     
during ,world ,war ,,ii2 ,whereas1 after
 the disaster1 #beh ,african-,american  
survivors of the explosion refused to   
resume the loading and unloading of     
ammunition at the naval facility1 citing
 inadequate training and the use of     
unsafe practices2 ,whereas1 according to
 a ,united ,states ,navy report1 the    
actual work of loading ammunition and   
explosives aboard the ships was         
performed exclusively by                
,afro-,americans under the supervision  
of white officers and ,afro-,american   
petty officers2 ,whereas1 according to a
 ,united ,states ,navy report1 the      
routine assignment of ,afro-,american   
enlisted personnel to manual labor was  
clearly motivated by race and premised  
upon the mistaken notion that they were 
intellectually inferior and thus        
incapable of meeting the same standards 

as their white counterparts2 ,whereas   
one of the ships was loaded with some   
#d1fjj tons of ammunition and high      
explosives1 some weighing #fej pounds   
with activating mechanisms or fuses     
installed2 ,whereas at that time there  
was no formal training in safe methods  
of ammunition handling given to enlisted
 men2 ,whereas the ,navy failed to      
adequately provide these enlisted men   
with the tools necessary to operate     
under safe working conditions1 even     
after the explosion occurred2 ,whereas1 
weeks before the explosion1 the         
longshoremen's union warned the ,navy   
that there would be a disaster if the   
,navy continued to use untrained seamen 
to load ammunition1 and offered to send 
experienced longshoremen to train ,navy 
recruits in safe handling of ammunition1
 but this offer was ignored by the      
,navy2 ,whereas subsequent research has 
confirmed the use of unsafe ammunition  
loading methods at the naval facility at
 the time and has documented the        

existence of pervasive racial prejudice 
in the ,united ,states ,navy during     
,world ,war ,,ii2 ,whereas according to 
the book ,the ,port ,chicago ,mutiny by 
,dr4 ,robert ,allen1 a worker described 
,port ,chicago as a slave outfit1 adding
 that we were considered a cheap labor  
force from the beginning2 ,whereas      
,white officers would encourage         
,african-,american sailors to compete   
while loading ammunition and explosives 
while officers placed bets among        
themselves2 ,whereas following the      
explosion1 many of the                  
,african-,american survivors expected to
 be granted survivors' leave before     
being reassigned to regular duty2       
,whereas such leaves were not granted1  
even for those who had been             
hospitalized1 and all ,african-,american
 men were to be sent back to work       
loading ammunition under the same       
officers as before2 ,whereas ,white     
officers were allowed to go home for    
#cj-;day leaves2 ,whereas #ej sailors of

 the ,united ,states ,navy1 all         
,african-,american men1 ultimately were 
tried and convicted of mutiny for       
failing to obey orders to resume loading
 activities2 ,whereas a refusal to work 
is a passive act of resistance without  
intent to seize power2 ,whereas a mutiny
 is active revolt with the intent of    
taking charge2 ,whereas ,thurgood       
,marshall1 then a chief counsel for the 
,,naacp1 was reported as stating he saw 
no reason why the men should be tried   
for mutiny1 which implies a mass        
conspiracy1 rather than on lesser       
charges of individual subordination2    
,whereas ,thurgood ,marshall blasted the
 trial by stating that the defendants   
were being tried for mutiny solely      
because of their race and color2        
,whereas the ,navy has concluded that   
there can be no doubt that racial       
prejudice was responsible for the       
posting of ,afro-,american enlisted     
personnel to the loading divisions at   
,port ,chicago2 ,whereas similar racial 

prejudicial bias has been documented in 
the conduct of the trial that resulted  
in the court-martial of the sailors at  
,port ,chicago2 ,whereas virtually all  
of the convicted sailors were released  
from prison early in #aidf and          
discharged under honorable conditions1  
and that the ,navy announced then that  
race would no longer be a factor in     
filling its jobs2 ,whereas1 in #aiii1   
,freddie ,meeks was pardoned by         
,president ,bill ,clinton in recognition
 of the injustice he suffered as one of 
the convicted sailors2 ,whereas ,mr4    
,meeks said at the time of his pardon1  
,after all these years1 the world should
 know what happened at ,port ,chicago4  
,it should be cleared up that we did not
 commit mutiny1 and we were charged with
 that because of our race42 ,whereas1 in
 #bjjc1 the ,national ,park ,service    
dedicated the ,port ,chicago ,naval     
,magazine ,national ,memorial at the    
disaster site2 ,whereas the ,port       
,chicago ,naval ,magazine ,national     

,memorial is not only a tribute to the  
#cbj men who died in this ,world ,war   
,,ii explosion1 but it also became the  
touchstone for desegregation in the     
military and the beginning of civil     
rights for all ,americans2 ,whereas in a
 ,july #ag1 #bjad1 letter recognizing   
the #gjth anniversary of the tragedy1   
,president ,barack ,obama1 in regards to
 the ,african-,american sailors at ,port
 ,chicago1 stated faced with tremendous 
obstacles1 they fought on two           
fronts--for freedom and equality at     
home2 and ,whereas while all sailors    
involved in the ,port ,chicago cases    
have passed away1 family members and    
friends continue to request that the    
sailors be cleared of all charges3 ,now1
 therefore1 be it  ,that it is the sense
 of the ,house of ,representatives      
that-- 7#a7 the trial and conviction of 
#ej ,african-,american sailors of the   
,united ,states ,navy for mutiny in     
connection with their service at the    
,port ,chicago ,naval ,magazine in      

,concord1 ,california1 during ,world    
,war ,,ii were wrongfully pursued       
because of racial prejudice1 as         
evidenced by the racial bias in the     
,navy's original findings in their cases
 and the different treatment afforded to
 the convicted sailors' ,white          
counterparts and officers2 and  7#b7    
,congress should publically exonerate   
the #ej ,navy sailors in order to       
further aid in healing the racial divide
 that continues to exist in the ,united 
,states4