The order was considered impossible: Clear 17 million Pieces of leftover mail. In a war zone.

Maj. Charity Adams knew it was a mission that could not fail, not only for the morale of World War II troops, but also for the reputation of Black people in the eyes of the nation’s highest military leadership. The real-life efforts of the 855 women of the Women Army Corps’ 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion are captured in Tyler Perry’s latest film, “Six Triple Eight,” now streaming on Netflix.

For Kerry Washington, who portrays Adams, the battalion’s ability to solve a persistent problem in the face of discrimination while being underestimated by others around him was both a Herculean task and an all-too-familiar scenario.

“When these women were asked to solve this problem, it was a problem that a lot of people had tried to solve and no one could solve it,” Washington said in an interview with NBC News. “They came in and, as black women do, figured out how to fix a situation that seemed impossible to solve, and in doing so, they gave the soldiers back hope, purpose, belonging and love, to help end the war.”

Mary McLeod Bethune, chairwoman of the National Council of Negro Women and a member of President Franklin Roosevelt’s so-called “Negro Cabinet,” who plays Oprah Winfrey in the film, advocated for black women to serve in war. But while black women were allowed into the military, they were segregated from white women and given very little to do. Since high-ranking military officials generally viewed blacks as inferior, many doubted that clearing endless piles of mail would be successful.

“Back then, you stayed connected to the people you love through mail,” Washington said. “There was no WhatsApp, no texting, no emailing, no FaceTiming. It was rarely possible to reach a landline telephone. People didn’t have cell phones, so it was the mail,” she said. “When the soldiers didn’t receive any mail, they no longer had hope. They had lost their meaning.”

The unit’s work had been forgotten by most – even Perry, the director, knew nothing of the 6888’s work until producer Nicole Avant contacted him to take it over.

During a question-and-answer session last month after a screening of the film in his home turf of Atlanta, Perry told the crowd filled with members of the National Association of Black Military Women how he met Lena Derriecott Bell King, then 99, a member the 6888th, showed him that he could use their life experiences to tell the remarkable story. Perry was also fortunate enough to screen an early version of the film for King before she died on January 18, nine days before her 101st birthday.

For the role of 17-year-old Lena Derriecott, Perry hired Ebony Obsidian, who stars in his long-running series “Sistas” on BET.

The role came as a surprise to Obsidian. When he asked her to read the script, she didn’t realize it was a true story or that he wanted her in his film.

“I didn’t even think I would play Lena when I read the script,” she said, with Washington at her side.

Obsidian, whose other credits include the Barry Jenkins film If Beale Street Could Talk and the Hulu series Wu-Tang: An American Saga, admits she was worried about portraying the lead , but said she was honored that Perry chose her. Her mother’s urging and reminder of her childhood nickname, “Little Soldier,” helped her “accept this, no matter how intimidating it is,” she said.

“Meeting Lena was the greatest gift,” Obsidian added. “She was obviously 100 years old when I met her, but at 17 I feel like there were certain elements about her that had to be the same, that just had to be classy.”

Washington did not meet the real Adams, who died in 2002 at age 83, but still felt guided by her.

“She passed, but she wrote a really nice memoir called ‘One Woman’s Army,’ which I read a few times,” Washington said. “I devoured it and parts of the memoir were hanging in my dressing room. I surrounded myself with pictures of her, looked at archive footage and interviewed people who knew her and worked with her, and listened to old interviews. I just tried to immerse myself in her soul and essence as much as possible.”

Washington said it felt like approval to find the commander’s real World War II suitcase containing her clothes and handwritten notes outside her dressing room after rehearsing one of Adams’ monologues with Perry.

But the way Washington speaks in the film is what sparked the most interest, including from her own children, who asked, “Whose voice is that?” after she played them the trailer. To achieve that distinctive voice, which sounds like a sharp Southern touch punctuated by precise Midwestern pronunciation and perhaps reflects Adams’ upbringing and education at Wilberforce University in Ohio in South Carolina, Washington worked hard with an accent coach and her acting coach together.

“There was no reinforcement back then. It wasn’t like she was standing there with a karaoke machine,” she said. “So if I had the kind of responsibility and command and calling that she had, where would that live in my body? How would this affect my posture? How would it affect my voice? How would it affect my resonance and need to be heard by these women so that they feel seen and heard by me? These are some of the questions I asked to find out where this vocal performance came from.”

Washington and Obsidian said they were grateful to be at the center of a film that celebrates the strength, excellence and sisterhood of black women, which Obsidian said also shows that “with the right support and the right people by your side, you can overcome anything.” , what you have to overcome.” .”

Washington said: “It’s really exciting to be part of a corrective history in some way. We’re telling a marginalized story about some real heroes, not just American heroes, but heroes of democracy around the world.”