Because of the dangerous conditions and lack of training, hundreds of Black sailors, who had been subjected to racism in a segregated Navy, refused to return to work. Fifty were charged with mutiny.

This image provided by Naval History and Heritage Command, shows African American Sailors of a naval ordnance battalion unloading aerial bombs from a railcar, circa 1943/44, in Port Chicago, Calif.

It is denied at the Navy Department ... by the elimination of the black men or by his consolidation, as is the case in the army. It is admitted that blacks make good sailors, but it is urged ...

Historian Glenn Knoblock has written books on the experiences of Black sailors in the U.S. Navy. GLENN KNOBLOCK: You could almost think of them as personal servants. PRICE: But during battle ...

April 25 (UPI) --The U.S. Navy on Saturday plans to christen the future Sojourner Truth, a John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler that honors the famous American Black woman, in San Diego.