The Port Chicago Oral History Collection rounds out the oral histories about Port Chicago that are already in the Oral History Center’s collection. This new collection of nine oral histories are told from the perspective of the survivors themselves. The Center’s existing collection talks about Port Chicago from a variety of voices, such as sailors on base, teenagers in town, and congressmen working to memorialize Port Chicago as a national park. These new oral histories were conducted by Robert Allen, activist, writer, and retired professor of African-American Studies and Ethnic Studies at the UC Berkeley. First published in 1993 and subsequently in 2006, Dr. Allen's book, The Port Chicago Mutiny: The Story of the Largest Mass Mutiny Trial in the US. Naval History, is the leading scholarly source on the events at Port Chicago. During the course of his research, Allen was able to interview many of the surviving sailors; all of his narrators are now deceased. These interviews are the some of the only surviving first-person accounts of the events. Preserving such important primary sources is critical in preserving the history of these events.
Oral Histories synced to audio
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to the National Park Service for funding the preservation, digitization, and access to these oral history interviews, as well as to Dr. Allen's Port Chicago and Civil Rights collections in partnership with The Bancroft Library.
Project resources
Robert Allen Port Chicago Papers
Robert L. Allen Bancroft Library Papers
OHC Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front Oral Histories relating to Port Chicago