Black film is at its best when it unearths our untold stories of HERoism. The Six Triple Eight, Tyler Perry’s latest project that shines light on the only Women’s Army Corps unit of color to serve overseas in World War II, has released its first look.
Kerry Washington stars as Major Charity Adams, the real-life commanding officer who led the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. Her military group faced racism, sexism and grueling working conditions but still served their country with honor and distinction in a seemingly impossible mission.
In February 1945, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, which consisted of Black women and women of Caribbean and Mexican descent, deployed overseas to England and France. The 855 enlisted were tasked with sorting a backlog of 17 million pieces of mail that hadn’t been delivered to soldiers on the front lines or to their families back home. In 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to award the women of the 6888th the Congressional Gold Medal for their service, which had gone largely unheralded.
Based on Kevin M. Hymel’s article “Fighting A Two-Front War” (published in WWII History Magazine), Perry wrote, produced and directed the film. Washington is an executive producer.
The Six Triple Eight is in select theaters on December 6 and on Netflix beginning December 20.
