Rapping About The WWII Black Shipyard Workers in Marin

December 7, 2021 marks 80 years since the bombing of Pearl Harbor, an act that would lead to the United States' formal involvement in WWII. In support of the war effort, the Bay Area soon became home to a number of small factories and larger shipyards where huge vessels were manufactured, like Sausalito's Marinship. As jobs opened up in this industry, hundreds of thousands of African Americans migrated from the South in search of better paying careers and less racism. What they found in Northern California, along with jobs, was housing discrimination and racist unions. On top of that, their contributions from that period have been largely overlooked in historical documentaries and public memory. Now, thanks to a group of young people who grew up on that same hallowed ground in Marin County, the tales of some of the Black workers at Marinship are being shared through beats and rhymes. The Marinovators, a collection of a dozen teenagers working under the guidance of MC Jahi, recently released the album "A Way Out Of No Way," which highlights the tales of African American laborers at Marinship like Rodessa Battle, Annie Small, and Joseph James.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices