⚓ Developed by the Port Chicago Alliance, the Port Chicago Student Education Program helps make Port Chicago history accessible to new generations while providing educators with meaningful opportunities to explore its connections to World War II, civil rights, military service, leadership, and the continuing pursuit of justice.

The Port Chicago Alliance works with schools, educators, youth programs, and community partners to bring the history of Port Chicago beyond the textbook and into classrooms, historic sites, museums, and public programs.

Our educational work includes donating books to classrooms and school libraries, developing and sharing age-appropriate lesson plans and teaching resources, helping schools obtain educational materials, supporting student field trips, and connecting young people directly with Port Chicago history through visits to historic and cultural sites.

PCA also helps create opportunities for students to participate in Port Chicago Weekend and other educational programs across the Bay Area. This has included coordinating student attendance, helping provide buses and transportation, and working with partner organizations to make field trips and special learning experiences accessible to young people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to participate.

Through partnerships with schools and school districts, including Mount Diablo Unified School District, we also help educators identify books, curriculum materials, historic resources, and other tools that can strengthen classroom instruction about Port Chicago and its broader significance in American history.

Student Book Program

Books remain an important part of this work. As of August 2026, the Port Chicago Alliance has donated more than 100 copies of The Port Chicago 50 and other educational materials to classrooms, school libraries, and youth educational programs.

Our first contribution to the Port Chicago Student Book Program came directly from author Steve Sheinkin, who generously donated copies of his award-winning book The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights to the Port Chicago Alliance in 2023.

Those books were distributed to the East Bay Regional Park District’s Thurgood Marshall Youth Development Program, where Bay Area youth learn about Port Chicago history at Thurgood Marshall Regional Park – Home of the Port Chicago 50.

Since then, the program has grown beyond book donations into a broader educational initiative designed to give students multiple ways to encounter, understand, and engage with the Port Chicago story.

Supporting Student Education

Contributions to Port Chicago Student Education Program help provide books, classroom materials, educational resources, student transportation, field trips, and other learning opportunities for schools and youth programs.

Support can be provided by purchasing items from the Port Chicago Shop, or by making a direct donation HERE.

Port Chicago Shop

Purchases from the Port Chicago Shop help support PCA’s educational work while raising awareness of the history and legacy of the Port Chicago Sailors.

Merchandise is manufactured and shipped through Redbubble. PCA receives a portion of each sale, and 100% of those proceeds are directed toward our student and educational programs. The Port Chicago Alliance also matches these proceeds dollar-for-dollar, helping expand the educational resources and opportunities we are able to provide to students and schools. ⚑