Job failed: Clear 17 million pieces of mail left behind. In a war zone.
Major Charity Adams knew this was a mission that could not fail, not only for the morale of the World War II troops, but also for the reputation of blacks in the nation’s highest military ranks. The real-life efforts of the 855 women of the Women’s Army Corps’ 6888th Central Postal Guide Battalion are featured in Tyler Perry’s latest film, Six Triple Eight, now streaming on Netflix.
For Kerry Washington, who plays Adams, the battalion’s ability to deal with the ongoing challenge of discrimination while being underestimated by those around it felt like both a thorough job and an all-too-familiar script.
“When these women were asked to solve this problem, it was a problem that a lot of people were trying to solve and nobody was able to,” Washington told NBC News. “They went in and, like Black women, figured out how to fix a situation that seemed impossible to fix, and in doing so, they gave back hope and purpose and belonging and love to the soldiers to end the war.”
Mary MacLeod Bethune, played by Oprah Winfrey in the film and head of the National Council of Negro Women, known as President Franklin Roosevelt’s “Negro Cabinet,” advocated for black women to serve in the war. However, when black women were recruited into the military, they were segregated from white women and given very few jobs. Many doubted the successful outcome of clearing the endless piles of mail, as senior military officials generally viewed blacks as inferior.
“Back then, mail was how you kept in touch with the people you loved,” Washington said. “There was no WhatsApp, no texting, no email, no FaceTiming. In rare cases, you can contact a landline. People didn’t have cell phones, so it was mail,” he said. “So when the soldiers didn’t get mail, they had no hope. They lost their goals.”
The unit’s work was largely forgotten—even director Perry didn’t know about it until producer Nicole Avant from Case 6888 contacted him.
During a Q&A after a screening of the film at her home in Atlanta last month, Perry told a crowd packed with members of the National Association of Black Military Women how she met Lena Derriecott Bell King, then 99, a member of Troop 6888. , showed him that he could apply his life experiences to help tell a remarkable story. Perry was also lucky enough to screen an early version of the film for King before he died on January 18, nine days after his 101st birthday.
To play 17-year-old Lena Derriecott, Perry tapped Ebony Obsidian, who starred in the long-running BET series “Sistas.”
This role was a surprise for 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.
“When I read the script, I never thought about playing the role of Lena,” she said.
Obsidian, whose other credits include the Barry Jenkins film “If Beale Street Could Talk” and the Hulu series “Wu-Tang: An American Saga,” admitted he was nervous about playing the lead role, but said he was honored Perry chose him. Her mother’s challenge and the reminder of her childhood nickname “Little Soldier” helped convince her to “go for it, no matter how scary it is.”
“Meeting Lena was the greatest gift,” added Obsidian. “He was 100 years old when I met him, but at 17 I feel there are certain elements about him that should be the same, just noble.”
Washington never got to meet the real Adams, who died in 2002 at age 83, but she still felt guided by him.
“She passed, but she wrote a really beautiful memoir called ‘One Woman Army,’ which I’ve read a few times,” Washington said. “I ate it and I had a piece of memorabilia hanging in my dressing room. I surrounded myself with his pictures, watched archival footage, interviewed people who knew him and worked with him, listened to old interviews. I really tried to immerse myself in the spirit and essence of it as much as I could.”
After rehearsing one of Adams’ monologues with Perry, Washington said finding the commander’s actual World War II luggage outside the locker room felt like validation.
But it was how Washington spoke in the film that sparked the most interest, including his own children asking, “Whose voice is that?” after he played them the trailer. At Wilberforce University in Ohio, Washington, he worked hard with both his accent coach and his acting coach to achieve this distinctive voice, a sharp Southern twang punctuated by a precise Midwestern accent, reflecting Adams’ upbringing and education in South Carolina.
“At that time, they did not have reinforcements. It wasn’t like he was standing there with a karaoke machine,” he said. “So if I had a responsibility, a command, and a calling that he had, where would it reside in my body? How will this affect my posture? How will this affect my voice? How will this affect my resonance and my need to be heard by these women so that they feel seen and heard by me? These are some of the questions I ask to help you understand where this vocal performance is coming from.”
Washington and Obsidian said they were thrilled to be at the center of a film that celebrates the strength, excellence and sisterhood of black women. .”
Washington said, “In a way, it’s really exciting to be a part of corrective history. We’re telling a side-splitting story about some real heroes, not just American heroes, but heroes of democracy around the world.
