USS Sumter Three

The Sumter Three - Jenkins, Barnwell and Blackwell in Camp Hensen Courtroom, Okinawa

In late August and early September 1972, a series of incidents on board the USS Sumter (LST-1181) off the coast of Vietnam resulted in three Black marines being charged with three counts of mutiny and eleven counts of assault, with the possibility of execution.[1][2] This was "the first time since the US Civil War that American sailors or Marines had been charged with mutiny at sea".[3]

The event that led to the arrests was a song played over the ship's radio station. Private First Class (PFC) Alexander Jenkins Jr., a 19-year-old Black marine in his role as the ship's DJ, decided to play a song by a Black artist that was popular among Black Americans at the time. The normal shipboard radio fare, which broadcast to the hundreds of sailors and marines on board, had up to this time been mainly popular white artists. As Jenkins recalled years later, "playing 'White Man’s Got a God Complex' by The Last Poets really set the white guys off." During the following days, an increasing number of disagreements and fistfights broke out between white and Black sailors and marines on board, with "some started by whites, others by Blacks."[3][4]: p.121 

Three Black marines were singled out as the "ringleaders", transported by helicopter to a military base in Da Nang and charged with mutiny, as well as assault, riot, and resisting arrest. The charges were so extreme that one GI underground newspaper called it an "outrageous" case of "racist prosecution".[2] They were then transferred to Okinawa, where they spent months in the brig with the military prosecutor "pushing for 65 years of prison" after being ordered by the Marine Corps to drop the mutiny charges as clearly excessive. With the help of civilian lawyers and the prospect of charges of racism being aired during the trial, the military eventually backed down and settled for less than fully honorable discharges for the three. Three white marines also initially faced charges ranging from dereliction of duty to disorderly conduct—nowhere near as serious as mutiny or assault. However, they were acquitted or received no punishment.[5] The events were characterized by The New York Times as "about race but also about structural racism."[3]

  1. ^ Oliver, Dave; Toprani, Anand (2022). American Defense Reform: Lessons from Failure and Success in Navy History. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. p. 97. ISBN 9781647122751.
  2. ^ a b "Bust on USS Sumter". content.wisconsinhistory.org. Wisconsin Historical Society: GI Press Collection. Omega Press. 1973-02-28. p. 4.
  3. ^ a b c Ismay, John (2020-08-19). "The Untold Story of the Black Marines Charged With Mutiny at Sea". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Cortright, David (2005). Soldiers In Revolt. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books. ISBN 1931859272.
  5. ^ "Bust on USS Sumter". content.wisconsinhistory.org. Wisconsin Historical Society: GI Press Collection. Camp News. 1973-01-15.