p-91 (Qcp-iow*e cOorCK P^6^touOG= ^^CgLLAMStxJX ( £ £ 0 '2-ooJ (HTtf^ui€.t^<; /v^»«D Tgi^Jh,£*®P pP=OvSAArnx £>*T T v ( ^ H m A(10 iH JT 'T uT£ JCIXjd^j ~ v S £ve^£-«vVKML'1, jK M or^ ■yi ■HHHHMHBH HI September 10, 2003 Dear Oral History Participant, Thank you for participation in the History project. I'm happy to report that the West Coast Oral History videos have just been placed in the African American Museum and Library in Oakland. I have enclosed your personal copy for your video library. Also, as you may know, Earl recently was appointed the position of Endowed Chair at the Hampton School of Journalism. He will be continuing the Oral History project in conjunction with Hampton. It is his hope that Hampton will join MIJE in hosting a celebration of the West Coast Oral History Project. He will contact you with an update on the project and our future collaboration. I will be in touch in with any future information. Again, thanks for your participation. Best regards, Amanda Elliott I Program Coordinator 409 Thirteenth Street, 9th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612 t: (510) 891-9202, f: (510) 891-9565, e: [email protected] BAYlTV PresS Release Date: March 23,1999 Contact: Jodie Chase (415)561-8658 Number: 99-3-51 ’ t REOfflVED MAR 2 S 1999 Ken Kaplan (415)561-8724 i “*■«* »', V' _ “PORT CHICAGO MUTINY: A NATIONAL TRAGEDY” - BAYTV TO PRESENT REBROAPCAST OF KRON-TV’S AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY “I told my officer several times that one day this stuff is going to explode, and his answer was, ‘If it does, you and I won’t know anything about it.’ So we just continued to work.” — Joe Small, a seaman who was later charged with mutiny in the Port Chicago Trial (San Francisco) - With renewed interest in The World War II Port Chicago Mutiny case, BayTV will rebroadcast KRON’s Emmy Award-winning documentary, “Port Chicago Mutiny: A National Tragedy.” Hosted by actor Danny Glover, the documentary looks at the controversial trial which found 50 African American soldiers guilty of mutiny after they refused to return to work following a huge munitions explosion. The one-hour documentary tells the story from firsthand accounts of three black survivors and the white defense attorney who represented the men during the trial. “Port Chicago Mutiny: A National Tragedy” airs on Tuesday, March 30 at 10:00 p.m. on BayTV (Channel 35 on most Bay Area cable systems). NBC will air “Mutiny,” a two-hour film based on the Port Chicago Mutiny, this Sunday, March 28 at 9:00 p.m. on Channel 4. “Port Chicago Mutiny: A National Tragedy” originally aired on KRON-TV on February 17, 1990. At that time, “Port Chicago Mutiny: A National Tragedy” revealed evidence that suggested the mutiny trial of 50 black seamen was prejudicial and compelled Bay Area congressmen George Miller, Ron Dellums and Pete Stark to ask the Department of the Navy to overturn the convictions. THE STORY On July 17, 1944, an explosion with a force rivaling the Hiroshima Bomb destroyed two military cargo ships loaded with ammunition at the Port Chicago Naval Depot. Three hundred and twenty men were killed. Two hundred and two of them were black. The blast damaged every structure in the nearby town of Port Chicago, 35 miles northeast of San Francisco. It was the worst home-front disaster of World War II, but another tragedy followed. When ammunition loading resumed two weeks later, 258 black seamen refused to return to work more... NEWS SALES BAY*TV (415) 561-8043 (415) 561-8933 1001 Van Ness Avenue Chronicle Broadcasting of San Francisco, Inc. FAX (415) 561-8745 FAX (415) 561-8665 San Francisco, California 94109 p< Tcagb/BayTY/rage under the same unsafe conditions that had sparked the explosion. Eventually under orders, 208 seamen did return to work, but 50 still refused and were charged with mutiny, punishable by death. What followed was the largest mass mutiny trial in U.S. naval history and a story of racial injustice and national disgrace. While researching the documentary, producers Ken Swartz and Will Robinson and researcher Mary Borrelli discovered a potential conflict of interest in the case against the black sailors. In the trial, the sailors were convicted largely due to the testimony of their commanding officer, Lt. Ernest Delucci. Swartz, Robinson and Borrelli learned that Delucci, the chief witness for Prosecutor Lt. Cmdr. Frank Coakley, was married to Coakley’s sister, Alice. No one knew at the time of this brother-in-law relationship except a reporter from a small left-wing newspaper. Had the facts been known, the defense attorney, Lt. Gerald Veltmann, could have asked for a mistrial, or at least, argued that Coakley should be removed as prosecutor. In addition to firsthand accounts from three black survivors and their white defense attorney, the documentary features four actors reading actual testimonies of the mutiny trial and segments video taped in New Jersey, Los Angeles and Treasure Island. THE UPDATE U.S. Congressman George Miller (D-Calif.) announced today that Morrison & Foerster LLP, a major San Francisco and Washington law firm, has initiated a formal pardon appeal process on behalf of one of the surviving sailors who was court martialed following the deadly Port Chicago explosion. Morrison and Foerster’s involvement consists of attorneys in Washington D.C. reviewing the records of the court martial at Port Chicago to assist the convicted Naval servicemen and their survivors with applications for presidential pardons. Morrison and Foerster are representing Mr. Meeks, the only known living serviceman who was convicted by court-martial at Port Chicago. Will Robinson and Ken Swartz co-produced the documentary. Karyne Holmes was the editor. Robert Allen, author of the book, Port Chicago Mutiny, was program consultant. Mary Borrelli was researcher. Bay TV is Chronicle Broadcasting and Liberty Media Company’s 24-hour news, sports and information cable channel, serving 1.3 million households in the Bay Area. Janette Gitler is director of news and programming. more... KRON is an NBC affiliate, owned by Chronicle Broadcasting of San Francisco. Dan Rosenheim is news director. A1 Holzer is vice president and station manager. Amy McCombs is president and general manager. B a y T V # ?‘gCM 7% S‘D SSX0?... S&ttcOia, fy. &aen&-VJt4Utlty 4/21/98 Hello Gentlemen & Mrs. Small: As promised, enclosed is your video copy of the Sacramento session. I will be forwarding additional information in the coming weeks. Enjoy! Best regards, SancO ui P.S. Hi, Robert, Just wanted to thank you fo autographing my girlfriend's daughter's book. Her mother thanks you, also. T a k e c a r e . Ne w s Re l e a s e July 6,1994 CONTACT: Jodie Chase 94-7-43 (415) 561-8658 !!£QRT CHICAGO MUTINY: A NATIONAL TRAGEDY” ~ KRON-TV TO REBROADCAST DOCUMENTARY IN COMMEMORATION OF 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF FATAL WEAPONS BASE EXPLOSION IN CONCORD. CALIFORNIA SATURDAY. JULY 16. AT 6:00 P.M. ON KRON-TV. CHANNEL 4 "I told my officer Several times that one day this stuff is going to explode, and his answer was, If it does, you and I won't know anything about it.' So we just continued to work...” — Joe Small, a seaman who was later charged with mutiny in the Port Chicago Trial (San Francisco) — In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the fatal explosion at Port Chicago, which led to the largest mass mutiny trial in U.S. naval history, KRON-TV will rebroadcast "Port Chicago Mutiny: A National Tragedy” on Saturday, July 16 at 6:00 p.m. on Channel 4. Hosted by actor Danny Glover, the one-hour documentary originally aired on KRON February 17,1990. At that time, "Port Chicago Mutiny: A National Tragedy" revealed controversial evidence that suggested the mutiny trial of 50 black seamen was prejudicial and compelled Bay Area congressmen George Miller, Ron Dellums and Pete Stark to ask the Department of the Navy to overturn the convictions. THE STORY On July 17,1944, an explosion with a force rivaling the Hiroshima Bomb destroyed two military cargo ships loaded with ammunition at the Port Chicago Naval Depot. Three hundred and twenty men were killed. Two hundred and two of them were black. The blast damaged every structure in the nearby town of Port Chicago, 35 miles northeast of San Francisco. It was the worst home-front disaster of World War II, but another tragedy followed. When ammunition loading resumed two weeks later, 258 black seamen refused to return KRON-TV 1001 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, California 94109 Chronicle Broadcasting of San Francisco, Inc. (415) 441-4444 • FAX (415) 561-8069 Port Chicago/KRON/Page 2 to work under the same unsafe conditions that had sparked the explosion. Eventually under orders, 208 seamen did return to work, but 50 still refused and were charged with mutiny, punishable by death. What followed was the largest mass mutiny trial in U.S. naval history and a story of racial injustice and national disgrace. While researching the documentary, producers Ken Swartz and Will Robinson and researcher Mary Borrelli discovered a potential conflict of interest in the case against the black sailors. In the trial, the sailors were convicted largely due to the testimony of their commanding officer, Lt. Ernest Delucci. Swartz, Robinson and Borrelli learned that Delucci, the chief witness for Prosecutor Lt. Cmdr. Frank Coakley, was married to Coakley’s sister, Alice. No one knew at the time of this brother-in-law relationship except a reporter from a small left-wing newspaper.