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The Six Triple Eight Deserves a Day of Admiration

As Women's History Month nears its end, New Jersey lawmakers have introduced legislation to recognize the African American women who served in the Women's Army Corps' 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion during World War II. The bill pending in the New Jersey Senate will designate May 18 as Six Triple Eight Day in the state if it passes. Close to 30 women who served in this unit were from the Garden State, and they stood bravely against the abhorrent sexism and racism they faced from their White male superiors. Their outstanding accomplishments, unfortunately, have been omitted from our history books and concealed in our country's military archives.

Last December, many people became aware of the amazing women of the 6888th through Tyler Perry's film "The Six Triple Eight," which highlighted the story of Major Charity Adams (played by Kerry Washington). In 2023, the U.S. Army post Fort Lee was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of the pioneering achievements of Adams and Lieutenant General Arthur Gregg. Gregg passed away last August at the age of 96 and was the first African American Army officer to reach the rank of lieutenant general. Adams is the first Black woman in U.S. history to have an Army fort named after her.

"The Six Triple Eight" reminded me of "Hidden Figures," the 2016 drama that tells the inspiring story of Katherine G. Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan, three gifted Black female mathematicians who worked at NASA during the early 1960s. The 855 Black women in the 6888th were also largely hidden, forging their path in a segregated Army unit nearly two decades before Johnson, Jackson and Vaughan's significant contributions to space exploration. Much of "The Six Triple Eight" is told through the vivid recollections of Lena Derriecott Bell King, who Perry said was still "sharp as a tack." King died at the age of 100 in January of last year, but she did get to see footage of the film before her passing. I found her life incredibly remarkable not just because of her military service but also for her personal fight against racism as a 1940s high school student in Bloomfield, Pennsylvania. The beginning of the film follows King's (Ebony Obsidian) close friendship with a young Jewish man named Abram David (Gregg Sulkin), which blossomed into a romance as David headed to the war before her graduation. Bloomfield was not exactly Jim Crow Birmingham, Alabama, at this time, but racial prejudice was still very prevalent in the Midwest. Although King attended an integrated high school, some of her White female classmates expressed disdain for her. David stokes their resentment even more with his bold affection for King in public, playfully laughing at the ignorance of her peers.

David's unfortunate death in the war influenced King to join the Army; little did she know how her journey would affect the lives of U.S. families whose letters had not reached their loved ones battling on the frontlines. When King arrives with the other Black female recruits at the Fort Oglethorpe base in Georgia, she is pushed mentally and physically by Adams and Captain Noel Campbell (Milauna Jackson), who know that the odds are more than stacked against them. Once Adams and Campbell receive the daunting assignment for their unit, which involves sorting through 17 million pieces of backlogged mail in six months, they must also devise a system for organizing the letters while rehabilitating and cleaning their building headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland. Eliminating the filth and rodents from their workspaces took some precious time off their six-month deadline, but these ladies miraculously accomplished this feat in less than 90 days.

Through the film, I also learned that Adams was the daughter of a minister, and I'm sure that she spent many nights in prayer before God dealing with the segregation and racist treatment she endured in the military. Despite Adams' rank as major, White soldiers refused to salute her, but she refers to herself as a woman of "faith and tremendous character." These attributes enabled her to lead a near-impossible operation and bring hope to millions of U.S. soldiers.

"The Six Triple Eight" is helping to provide Adams and the women of the 6888th with much-deserved recognition for their rightful place in U.S. history. Their story is a glorious testimony of the resilience of the American spirit and tenacious female leadership. It would be great for New Jersey to celebrate them with a distinguished day of admiration.

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Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com. Follow her on X: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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