Say what you want about Tyler Perry but The Six Triple Eight is one of the best – if not the best – of his films. The story is based on the lives of the only Black, female-led battalion to serve in World War II. They were given the arduous task of having to sort and decipher 17million pieces of mail where others had failed. They were discounted, abused and put upon despite being highly skilled and trained women. Despite being given terrible conditions to work in, they “made do”, creating a more pleasing environment with what they had. We follow the stories of several women, including Lena, a young woman who joins the service after losing her best friend and love early in the war. Another central character is Major Charity Adams, played by Scandal et al actress Kerry Washington , the woman that trained and led the Battalion and was the highest ranking Black woman.
I’m not sure if it’s end of year fatigue but I was in tears by the end. It’s hard not to resonate with these every day women doing extraordinary things under duress and constant, relentless ridicule. It’s the never ending reality of Black women: always expected to work harder and make something out of nothing. As we enter into the holiday season, I am deeply reflective as I look at how 2024 has panned out for me. In short, it’s been tough. However, I made it. Though my contributions to life are less impactful than the 800+ women who drove the morale of the US troops during the atrocities of war, I relate as I feel like I’ve been in a war with myself.
As we enter into a potentially inflammatory time in world politics, it feels like this is the right time for this film to come out. I think racism in this country was somewhat subtle for a long time but with growing right wing sentiment the audacity of some has begun to grown. We see the women go through this when they are denied the same safety precautions as their counterparts, told to live and work in a space with no heat in the middle of winter and mice and and even being denied the opportunity to have a proper burial when they lose two of their servicemen. The lesson to take away is that despite everything they made it, so while The Six Triple Eight is a story of war, it is also a story of hope and a reminder of how important it is for us to preserve our history and acknowledge our successes.
