Launch of the SS Marine Eagle , the first ocean-going ship constructed entirely by African-American laborers. Sun Shipyard Number 4, Chester, PA, May 11, 1943.

Credit: Image Donated by Corbis-Bettmann

Plagued by racial tensions, the Sun Ship Company in 1943 staffed Yard Four with an all African-American workforce. By the end of the war, Yard 4"s all black workforce of 6,200 employees had launched fifteen cargo ships and thirty-five car floats.