Yulie Padmore

Yulie Padmore is a civil rights advocate and cultural preservation leader whose work has helped bring greater public recognition to the legacy of the Port Chicago Sailors and their place in American history.

Her advocacy for Port Chicago grew from broader work advancing racial equity and public recognition in the East Bay. As co-founder of the East Bay Black Employee Collective, she helped secure the naming of Thurgood Marshall Regional Park — Home of the Port Chicago 50, creating a lasting public tribute to the Sailors and connecting their story to the broader history of civil rights and military desegregation.

Yulie later became a prominent advocate for the exoneration of the Port Chicago 50, working alongside descendants, attorneys, elected officials, historians, and community advocates in the years leading to the U.S. Navy’s historic July 2024 decision clearing the Sailors of their convictions.

Today, she carries that work forward as Executive Director of the Port Chicago Alliance, where she leads national advocacy, public policy, cultural preservation, and public programming. She collaborates with public agencies, elected officials, and regional leaders to advance the role of history and cultural heritage in major civic, planning, and redevelopment initiatives. Under her leadership, PCA has expanded efforts to ensure that the Port Chicago story is preserved not only in the historical record, but through education, museums, historic sites, public commemorations, and the communities connected to the Sailors’ legacy.

Yulie also serves as Vice Chair of the CA-HI NAACP Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committee, extending her work at the intersection of civil rights, military service, veterans, and historical justice.