At age 23, Charity Adams, a middle school teacher from Columbia, South Carolina, answered the call to service, lured by the promise of career and leadership opportunities, they say biography. She was the first black woman to serve as an officer in the WAC and led the legendary 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion – the Six Triple Eight – which changed military history forever.

Kerry Washington (center) as Maj. Charity Adams.

In the film, we don’t see Adams’ path to her position nor do we really understand how she rose to this leadership role. Instead, we only encounter her through the lens of a passionate leader preparing a group of hopeful women for what lies ahead.

The 6888th Battalion broke barriers in the military.

As depicted in the Netflix film, the 6888th is the largest group of Black women to serve overseas during World War II. According to the Library of CongressThe unit was comprised primarily of African-American women, including some members of Hispanic and Caribbean descent, ages 17 to 52, who came together to prove their worth in a male-dominated military environment.

The battalion was formed in December 1944 with a single mission: to clear a huge backlog of undelivered mail for US soldiers stationed in Europe. It was believed that the mail, filled with letters, photos and gifts from loved ones, would provide a vital morale boost to troops fighting at the front.

Military personnel from the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion take part in a parade in Rouen, France, 1945.

The creation of the 6888th Battalion was a direct response to the Army’s refusal to send black women overseas even though their white counterparts were deployed. Although the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) opened the doors to military service for women, black women were initially left out. First civil rights activists like Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt pushed for change that black women were finally allowed to serve in Europe.

The six triple eight, consisting of 31 officers and 824 enlisted menwere discriminated against because of the system they were supposed to serve. Nevertheless, her skills, commitment and resilience proved unmistakable. One of the most significant moments in their history was when Maj. Charity Adams defied a white general who tried to inspect her soldiers’ quarters during their shift. Adams is known for his grim determination replied“Over my dead body, sir,” a line that is thankfully included as one of the film’s most powerful scenes. This moment of defiance was a powerful testament to the leadership and courage that characterized the women of the 6888th.

They worked quickly, even under terrible circumstances.

Although the film doesn’t fully capture that harsh conditions The women were confronted with a brutal reality. Arriving in Birmingham, England, the 6888th Battalion worked in freezer warehouses without heat where rats ate through letters and sorted undelivered mail under blackout conditions. With no windows for natural light, many suffered from eye strain as they worked long, strenuous shifts.

Despite these conditions, the 6888th worked tirelessly in eight-hour shifts, processing an average of 65,000 pieces of mail per shift and clearing the backlog in just three months, it said The New York Times– half of the time allotted to them. So remarkable was their efficiency that they were later called to Rouen, France, where they cleared an even larger three-year backlog, which took them only five months. However, the film misses the chance to fully highlight the systems and strategies they use to accomplish such a monumental task.

American Women’s Army Corps (WAC) Captain Mary Kearney and American WAC Commanding Officer Major Charity Adams inspect the first arrivals of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion at a temporary post in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, in February 1945 .

It took 70 years for it to be officially recognized.

When the soldiers in the film finally receive their mail, a group of them salute and applaud the black women’s battalion, and it feels like the women are finally getting the recognition they deserve. But in reality it would take over 70 years for the 6888th to receive the recognition it deserved. Despite their crucial role in maintaining morale by ensuring soldiers stayed connected to their families, it took until 2022 for this to happen awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

“The lack of recognition these Black women experienced upon their return typified the general indifference and even hostility generally shown to Black veterans by the American public at large after World War II,” said archivist Damani Davis the National Archives.

Sarah Jeffrey as Dolores Washington, Pepi Sonuga as Elaine White, Milauna Jackson as Captain Campbell, Moriah Brown as Inez, Shanice Shantay as Johnnie Mae and Ebony Obsidian as Lena Derriecott King in The Six Triple Eight.

Major Charity Adams died at the age of 83.

After the war, Adams earned a Master of Arts degree from The Ohio State University and worked in various academic administrative roles. She continued to advocate for her community by founding the Black Leadership Development Program and working with organizations such as the American Red Cross.

In 1996, the Smithsonian National Postal Museum honored Adams for her contribution to the war effort. She passed away January 13, 2002, at age 83.

Accordingly Tudum from NetflixOnly two veterans of the 6888th Battalion are still alive: Fannie McClendon and Anna Mae Robertson.