Concord endorses naming new park for Thurgood Marshall, Port Chicago sailors

by Tony Hicks, Bay City News May 31, 2021June 1, 2021

Sailors work at Port Chicago in an undated image. The dangerous task of loading naval weapons during World War II fell exclusively to Blacks, many of whom died in a 1944 explosion at the Concord facility. The city hopes to honor their legacy when the East Bay Regional Park District chooses the name for a new park planned at the site. (Photo courtesy of National Park Service)

The Concord City Council threw its weight behind naming a future park in the former Concord Naval Weapons Station after Thurgood Marshall and the 50 sailors he represented who stood up to racism after the Port Chicago explosion in 1944.

The East Bay Regional Park District will decide to name the park “Thurgood Marshall Regional Park — Home of the Port Chicago 50” at its June 1 board meeting.

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