The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights

Sheinkin turns away from Port Chicago to describe the racial incidents affecting black soldiers and sailors throughout the United States. Within the U.S. military, bases remain deeply segregated—in some cases, black soldiers are only allowed to eat cold leftovers once the white soldiers have finished their meals. The bases are frequently located in parts of the US, especially the South, where segregation is a deeply accepted part of the social order. In these areas, black soldiers often face intense prejudice any time they leave their base to travel into town. In one instance, Sheinkin narrates a story described by Corporal Rupert Trimmingham. When Trimmingham and his fellow black soldiers are forced to spend a night in a rural Louisiana town, they are unable to find a restaurant willing to serve black people. One restaurant finally allows the black soldiers to eat standing up in the back of the kitchen while a group of German prisoners of war are allowed into the restaurant and are properly served a meal. Trimmingham describes the story in a letter to Yank, a soldier newspaper distributed throughout military bases.

Numerous stories of the racial discrimination encountered by black soldiers are sent to