The Six Triple Eight

 Ever heard of the only all-female, all-black segregated Army unit shipped to Europe during WWII? Thanks to Netflix's acclaimed new hit, "The Six Triple Eight" quite a few of us have recently been made aware of a very strong group of brave warrior women. These brave warrior women, in desperation to be of the slightest bit of help, to show what they can do...ended up showing more tenacity, strength and courage than many of the men fighting Hitler on the front lines.

Who were they? This movie mainly revolves around Lena, a young black woman grieving after Abram, her childhood friend and love interest, is shot down in Europe. The devastated Lena enlists in the Army, desperate to do something, anything, to fight back. At first, it's obvious and understandable that she wants to bring justice to Abram and would love to shoot his killers head-on! But of course, being as she's a black woman, she's not going to be allowed to do anything. At least not at first.

News gets out about the several months' worth of Army mail backlog. Soldiers aren't receiving comforting letters from their loved ones, and the families of soldiers worry every day with no news. When this reaches the ears of notable figures President Roosevelt, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and Mary McLeod Bethune, they realize that something must be done. They have indeed attempted to do as much for the mail as possible, including even sending the WAC in. The white Women's Army Corps, that is. 

The Six Triple Eight, a downtrodden but determined battalion made entirely up of black female soldiers, is dispatched to Europe, where the mail is held. And it's obvious from the get-go that the higher ups do not want these women to succeed at their job. It's clear that they are intentionally being set up to fail. Instantly, the battalion is put to work in a freezing, half bombed warehouse sorting sack after sack of often unintelligible letters to and from soldiers. Conditions are extremely bleak...and no help is given from any higher ups. Instead, excuses are given by higher ups, who of course are aware of the conditions and know that things can be done...but they won't. It's said by the unapologetic MAJ Charity Adams to her troops: "They want us to fail. We have to prove them wrong!"

This movie is quite a watch, and highly recommended. It goes to show what those of whom possess "privilege" will intentionally go out of their way to do, including playing dirty, law breaking, and acts of sabotage, to fail those of whom are downtrodden by society. The thing is, deep down inside, the superiors knew that this crowd of black women could easily do the job. But did they want them to succeed? No. 

Why do those in power not want to see those of whom are different succeeding? Because it will usher in a world that they themselves are not comfortable in. Not only that, but it will also begin to prove the "privileged" demographics- i.e. white, male, straight, able-bodied, neurotypical- wrong. 

We are now officially a quarter into the 21st century, and discrimination still runs rampant. And in some ways, things may even begin going backwards again. Can we let that happen? No.

The Six Triple Eight should be a requirement for all of those who want to make a difference to watch. All of those who believe that the "privileged" have held sway long enough, watching this on Netflix and ruminating on how these women lived and fought...and how they can be an inspiration...is a perfect place to start. MAJ Charity Adams reminded me from the start of Constance Markevicz, the (real-life) mentor of my (fictional) character, Stormy Maeve Johnson. MAJ Adams was indeed a warrior in plenty of ways...and without spoiling too much, she ended up doing what she had to do to help the voices of herself and her women be heard.

What can I say about Lena...at first she thinks that she made a huge mistake, but at the end, ends up proving herself, and so much more. According to the IMDB site, as of 2024, two of the women featured in the film are still living... and if they (or anyone close with them) see this...I hope they realize what warriors that they are. Hooah!