Netflix Releasing Kerry Washington-Led Film About 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
Netflix has released the trailer for its upcoming film about the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the first and only unit of color with the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) to serve overseas during World War II. Titled The Six Triple Eight, Tyler Perry wrote and directed the feature, with Scandal (2012-18) star Kerry Washington taking the lead role of Charity Adams.
As aforementioned, The Six Triple Eight was written and directed by Tyler Perry, who’s best known for his Madea film series and House of Payne (2006-present). He also served as one of the project’s producers, alongside Nicole Avant, Keri Selig, Angi Bones, Carlota Espinosa and Tony L. Strickland.
Perry revealed he was inspired to make the movie after speaking with former 6888th member Lena Derriecott King, who passed away in January 2024. “We sat in her house for a couple of hours just talking, having a great conversation,” he shared in a tribute video to King. “And when I left there I had a whole movie in my mind that I wanted to write for her.”
To make the project a reality, he decided to adapt the screenplay from Kevin M. Hymel’s article, “Fighting A Two-Front War,” which was published in WWII History magazine.
The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight,” was established to deal with the mail backlog that had popped up in the latter years of the Second World War. The only battalion of African-American women sent to Europe during the conflict, they faced a three-year backlog of 17 million letters and packages. While it was estimated the task would see them tied up for six months, they masterfully completed their work in just three.
Throughout their deployment, the women of the 6888th, under the command of Col. Charity Adams, contended with less-than-ideal conditions. They stayed in segregated lodgings, and their work stations were in rat-infested, uninsulated aircraft hangars. This would have been enough to stop anyone from wanting to do their jobs, but they kept themselves motivated with the slogan, “No mail, low morale.”
The 6888th served in the United Kingdom and France, and the battalion was disbanded in January 1946, several months after the conclusion of the war. It took decades for the women to be formally recognized for their service, due to their gender and the color of their skin.
In 2022, US President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill that saw the 6888th awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian decoration in the United States.
Alongside Kerry Washington, The Six Triple Eight stars the likes of Ebony Obsidian, Kylie Jefferson, Milauna Jackson, Dean Norris and Sam Waterston. Famed talk show host Oprah Winfrey is also reported to have scored a part in the film.
Speaking at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, Washington said, “I felt like these women were with us in this process. You felt their spirit all the time.”
Avant added, “Every single person, Black, White, anywhere in between, male, female, anybody can see themselves in those characters. Because all stories, to me, are human stories. Everything to me is about humanity.”
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The Six Triple Eight will be released in select theaters on December 6, 2024, before being made available for streaming on Netflix a few weeks later, on December 20.
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Netflix Releasing Kerry Washington-Led Film About 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
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