I came across an article in the NY Times the other day titled “The Black Female Battalion That Stood Up to a White Male Army.” Wow, now there’s a LOT to unpack in that sentence! As a lover of history, and particularly the WWII era, I immediately clicked on the headline and read it all the way through … and confirmed that I had never, ever heard of these women and the work they did 75 years ago as US Army soldiers.
So, where to start? … I grew up with a regular, Saturday morning TV dose of either football, Westerns, or war movies. Cartoons weren’t allowed (too violent and the characters were “rude to each other”), but apparently it was ok to watch soldiers being blown up or the bad guys getting their due?! I think the real truth is that Dad was in charge, so he got to control the remote (of course, at that time our “remote” consisted of my little brother sitting on the floor up close to the TV and changing the channel on demand). But I did learn to love the hero journey, and the legends of fighting for freedom. I cheered for the “right side” and it all seemed so simple, so clear, so “black and white,” back then.
In addition to those sluggish Saturday TV mornings, during the hot, muggy Appalachian summers in West Virginia one of my favorite things to do was jump on my white 5-speed bike and pedal down to the local library in search of air conditioning and literary adventure. It was a double escape – physical and mental – and I got lost in the stacks of the middle-school section. Whether it was the entire series of The Bobbsey Twins or Trixie Belden, it was the early 1980’s version of binge-watching a whole streaming series like kids do today.
One of my most-loved stories was about a nurse named Cherry Ames, with 27 mystery novels in hospital settings — including a war-time nurse stationed in the Pacific. Whether the story reflected the actual challenges facing women in the military or not, I really don’t remember. I DO recall being excited by the stories of female soldiers serving alongside the men and helping our country win the war. But I really had no idea, at 10 or 11 years old, what women had to do in order to get the same opportunities as our male counterparts. At that time, for me, it just seemed so simple – love your family, love your country, work hard, be a good person, and everything will turn out okay.
Now, after 50 years in this complex world, if there is any thing I know, it’s that nothing is so straightforward – the world is shades of gray. Figuring out your truth, finding your footing, your place, your voice, your passion, isn’t always easy. Ideally, we learn and grow, and our perspectives evolve. The more we know, the more clarity and determination we are able to have about an issue or situation and the ensuing paths we take.
Case in point, consider the riveting story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion – the largest unit of black servicewomen ever to deploy in an overseas theater of war. The unit was established to determine the “value black women brought to the military.” Yep, you read that right. Basically, they were being tested on behalf of their entire race AND gender. No pressure, huh?
And their strategic gig for the home-team was all about the MAIL. It wasn’t very exciting, and it definitely wasn’t “glamorous.” But this group of 855 women stationed in Birmingham, England, had a strategic mission that was hyper-critical to the war effort. At this point in the war in January 1945, there was an enormous backlog of more than 17 million letters and packages addressed to our soldiers across Europe. Receiving mail from home and loved ones was undeniably critical for the mental health and morale of the troops. It was deemed SO mission critical, in fact, that the Allied Forces insisted on fixing the mail problem. But the logistical challenges involved with mail delivery had become an operational nightmare. The success of the 6888th Battalion would be measured by how quickly they could clear the backlog – and basically, they were set up to fail.
So let’s set that precarious stage: “Years of unyielding pressure from civil rights activists, including the first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, had convinced the War Department to give them a shot, but those who strongly opposed their inclusion in the ranks expected to be validated by seeing them fail. ‘The eyes of the public would be upon us, waiting for one slip in our conduct or performance,’” Major Charity Adams later recalled.
Sure, the opportunity to serve in this Battalion gave black women jobs they otherwise wouldn’t have had. But in the military these women faced some of the same kinds of oppression that existed in their civilian lives, such as segregation, denial of entry into certain areas on post, and assignment to menial tasks. The challenges were daunting but the character of these pioneering black women was profound.
The 6888th Battalion was given six months to clear the backlog and straighten out the mail service in Birmingham – they did it in three. They became known for the “fastest and most reliable mail directory in the European Theater.” AND, they overcame sexism and racism to do it. Adams was threatened with court martial when she told a general who tried to replace her that it would only happen “over her dead body.” She refused to house her soldiers in a segregated hotel when they were on leave. She took every opportunity she could to stand up for what she called a “common cause” – the refusal of these women to be victims, at home or at work or anywhere else.
I think we’ve just defined the ultimate in Girl Power – although maybe we need to come up with a better, less over-used phrase! These aren’t girls — they are strong, smart, creative and powerful black women. For me, the Six Triple Eight represents the ultimate in the best kind of power – “power with” instead of “power over.” These women united in cause and represented truth and excellence — women standing beside other women as the truest, toughest sisterhood. They overcame the odds and refused to be victimized. They are heroes to all of us on this journey of life – previously unsung, until now.
So today I’m singing the song of the Six Triple Eight – refusing to be silenced, refusing to be “less than,” refusing to accept judgement or indignity. I look up to these women of color as leaders in finding my voice, holding my ground, and forging a new path in this life on my own terms.
(The NY Times allows viewers to read a few free articles a month, even if you aren’t a subscriber. Definitely worth a read!)