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Decades After Serving In World War II, The First All-Black Women’s Battalion Is Being Honored

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With the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court winning the hearts of millions of Americans with her measured and capable handling of the intense grilling by the Judiciary Committee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson demonstrated the resilience modeled by generations of women – some of whom have only recently been recognized.

President Joe Biden announced earlier this month that the African American women of the 6888th Battalion, nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight,” will receive the Congressional Gold Medal honor for their service during World War II. The women served in the Women’s Army Corp and sorted mail for soldiers in Europe. They were led by Major Charity Adams who graduated in 1938 from Wilberforce University where she majored in Latin, physics and mathematics. Adams became the leader of the only all-Black, all-female battalion sent overseas known for their motto, “No mail, low morale.”

Mary McLeod Bethune played an instrumental role in the formation of the 6888th; she urged First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to find a way for Black women to serve. And members of the Black Press used their influence to create the Battalion.

When the women arrived in England in the winter of the 1945, the hangers where they worked were not heated. They were persevered despite the environment and the enormity of the task they faced. There were reportedly more than 17 million pieces of mail – simply waiting to be sorted and delivered. Some of it had been there for two years.

The women started a system using index cards with names and similar names distinguished by military serial numbers. They worked in three shifts, seven days a week during which they handled an estimated 65,000 pieces of mail per shift. Their assignment was to manage the mail for four million members of the military and civilians.

Officers considered the lack of mail delivery detrimental to morale. With a commitment to doing their part to win the war, The 6888th completed the assignment in England by October, and the women were then transported to Roen, France. After they cleared the mail there, they were sent to Paris where they lived in hotels – a great improvement in their living conditions.

But by the end of 1945, the ranks of the Battalion had dwindled with only 588 women remaining of the 850 who started; many of them transferred back home. A few months later in February 1946, they returned to the United States and the following year the Battalion was disbanded.

Black History

Trump Signs Executive Orders That Will Impact HBCUs and Black Schoolchildren

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and establish a White House Initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.”

According to the White House, the Initiative will help develop private-sector partnerships, institutional development and workforce preparation in technology, health care, manufacturing and finance. 

The president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry L. Williams said, “Today’s executive order serves as strong reaffirmation of President Trump’s support of investment of historically Black colleges and universities. This executive order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations, members of Congress and state lawmakers to redouble their efforts to support HBCUs and their students. TMCF looks forward to continued engagement with the administration and Congress to deliver results for HBCUs and the students they serve via appropriations and other legislative actions.”

On the same day, Trump signed another executive order that removes safeguards for African American schoolchildren by eliminating an Obama-era initiative to protect Black schoolchildren from excessive disciplinary action.

During the Obama administration, the first Black president’s administration created guidelines that sought to prevent school discipline from having a disproportionate effect on minority students. Trump revoked the civil rights initiative during his first term and Biden did not formally restore it. 

At his signing today, Trump said his decision was especially important to the current Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who held the signed order.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”

She added, “Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.

Studies show that Black students are punished more often than their white counterparts.

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President Jimmy Carter Appointed the First Black Woman to Lead a Federal Agency

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President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life,
advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his
death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of
Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White
House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that
changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.


Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose
Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in
1977.


Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not
considered before.”


Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.


The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.


Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.


“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”


President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty,
compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice

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The Congressional Black Caucus Prepares for “Important” Work

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The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.

“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.

Photo Credit: Ron Busby, U.S. Black Chambers Inc.

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