Suddenly the U.S. Army’s 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion are getting the national exposure that they’ve long deserved, but never received until now. That’s due to the release on Netflix of Tyler Perry’s film “The Six Triple Eight.” Kerry Washington and Ebony Obsidian are the primary leads in this ensemble cast. The story showcases the largest group of Black servicewomen to serve overseas during World War II. Washington has taken the occasion on publicity interviews to discuss the obscurity of this unit, something that’s quite frankly done a disservice to an exceptional unit.
“She went, just out of curiosity, to check the list of the 855 women who were in the regiment, and found her great aunt on the wall at the premiere,” Washington, who portrays Major Charity Adams, told the website Blavity’s Shadow and Act during their recent cast interview about the reaction of a journalist who was interviewing her. “She burst into tears on the carpet, because a lot of these women, they were not treated well when they came back home. They were disrespected. There were rumors that they were sent overseas just to be concubines for the Black soldiers, and so a lot of them didn’t want to talk about it. They didn’t want to share their history.”
“I think we go through that as Black folk, sometimes, even just as Americans…we get nervous about talking about our history because there are things about it that make us feel ashamed or embarrassed,” she continued. “But when you go back, when you have the courage to look back at who we’ve been, it gives us more ability to be truly aware in the present moment about building the future that we want to have going forward. So looking at our future, [and] being honest about it, is so vital. And now, we get to lift these women up. There’s two surviving members, so my hope is that the 853 other women up in heaven are just smiling [and] elated we are celebrating them… that there’s no shame… [that] they can shake their shame and know that we see them for who they are and what they did.”
Obsidian, who plays Lena Derriecott King, says the experience of being in the film has changed her life forever. Obsidian was able to meet King before she passed away at age 100 in January 2024.
“Lena Derriecott King was an incredible force,” said Obsidian. “She was not only a woman…. she was not only a Black woman, but she was a dreamer who never stopped dreaming. She became a nurse after the war. She became a dressmaker after the war. She has lived so many lives, and of course, she was blessed with so many years on this planet to do so. I think the biggest thing that she taught me was just that there’s so much more life after pain. There is so much more life after grief.”
She added, “I met the real Lena, not just the character on the screen and in the script, at a time where I needed exactly that. It was so crucial for me, and she didn’t even know what she was giving to me, which made it all that more special. Kerry was also such an incredible protective shield for me throughout this process. I’m so grateful for that, and we’ll always be so grateful for that. But Lena was an incredible woman, and she deserves all the praise, as do all of these women.”
“The Six Triple Eight” is now streaming on Netflix.
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