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

“Hot cargo” refers to some of the bombs that the Port Chicago 50 are tasked with loading onto Naval ships. Most of the explosives that the sailors load do not have detonators attached to them, meaning that the bombs cannot explode in the event of an accident. However, the “hot cargo” are large “650-pound incendiary bombs” with the “fuses already attached,” meaning that the bombs are live and could explode if something goes wrong (33). Sheinkin describes the atmosphere at Port Chicago as one full of chaos—with bombs constantly crashing into the sides of the ships. For many of the sailors, including Joe Small, it’s clear that “someday [the pier] will [blow up]” (52). In Sheinkin’s narrative, however the dangers represented by the hot cargo are both literal and metaphorical. Sheinkin describes African-Americans in the US military as being increasingly frustrated by the racist treatment they receive, as well as the military’s lack of action in response to such discrimination. As one black sailor says: “Things are slowly coming to a head. All it needs is a little incident to light the fuse” (46). In turn, the explosion at Port Chicago is not simply a literal explosion, but the inciting event that leads the Navy to fully reckon with its policies of segregation.