Charity Earley: A Way Maker in Times of Hardship

The list of figures who gave their all for the freedom of Black Americans would be incomplete without mentioning Charity Adams Earley; the same goes for women who made history in the United States. She paved the way for Black women in the military and the community and ensured they got the education they needed.

According to the National Women’s History Museum, Earley was born on Dec. 5, 1918, in Kittrell, North Carolina, and grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. Her most notable position was leading the army’s first African American women’s unit on a World War II overseas tour. 

With her parents, who were both well-educated and strived to encourage a love of books and learning in their children, Earley started primary school as a second grader due to her outstanding intelligence. After elementary school, she was among 13 students who passed an exam to advance directly to high school, but her parents chose not to let her skip ahead.

Earley graduated at the top of her class as valedictorian from Booker T. Washington High School, gaining a scholarship that enabled her to attend Wilberforce University in Ohio, which was then ranked as one of the best African American higher educational institutions. 

Apart from majoring in mathematics, Latin, and physics while minoring in history, Earley was very active at the university. She ensured she joined as many school groups as possible and those matching her interests there, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Earley also took courses in education while there so she could become a teacher. She graduated in 1938 with a bachelor’s degree in Arts.

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Upon returning to Columbia, South Carolina, Earley taught math and science at a junior high school from 1938 to 1942. When she was not teaching, she took graduate courses at Ohio State University (OSU) in the summer and later declared vocational psychology as her major. 

When the United States expanded its military forces in 1942, the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) was created, later known as the Women’s Army Corps (WAC), as the United States went to war with Germany and Japan. Earley heard about this and decided to apply for a place in the organization. 

Earley was accepted into the first officer candidate school in July of that year and began training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. After earning her commission in August, she remained at the training center until 1944, serving as a staff training officer, station control officer, and company commander. In September 1943, she was promoted to major, becoming the highest-ranking female officer there.

According to the U.S. ARMY, after being promoted, Earley became the commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, nicknamed the “Six Triple Eight,” which was turned into a movie in honor of all the African American females who served in the Army during World War II, which Tyler Perry directed. 

This was also the first unit of WAC African Americans to go overseas. Its first mission in Birmingham, England, was to organize and distribute undelivered mail to U.S. service members. Earley’s battalion worked seven days a week, three shifts, clearing all the backlogged mail from the previous six months in only three months despite being given nine months to do it. 

Later, Earley’s unit relocated to the postal facility in Rouen, France, where they were once more entrusted with sorting up to 65,000 pieces of mail daily that had not been delivered. The unit cleared over 17 million pieces of backlogged mail by the end of World War II, ensuring the members serving in the war stayed in touch with their loved ones back home, significantly boosting morale. 

For her outstanding service in the WAC, Earley was promoted to lieutenant colonel in December 1945, the highest rank available to soldiers in the WAC. She later requested to be discharged from active duty in 1946. She also was presented by the National Council of Negro Women Inc. with a scroll of honor for distinguished service to the military. 

Upon being discharged from the services, Earley was invited to many places and groups to talk about her experiences in wartime. She also managed to get her Master of Arts at OSU and started working at the Veterans Administration in Cleveland, Ohio, as a registration officer. She worked in this position from 1946 to 1947; then, she turned to different roles in academic administration.

In 1949, Earley married Stanley A. Earley Jr. and relocated to Zurich, Switzerland. There, she studied German at the Minerva Institute. Earley later enrolled in classes at the University of Zurich. 

Upon returning to the United States in the 1950s, Earley spent the remainder of her life serving as a dean at Georgia State University, Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College (now Tennessee State University), and numerous other organization boards. She then settled in Dayton, Ohio.

In 1982, Earley founded the Black Leadership Development Program (BLDP) to educate and train Black Americans to be community leaders. She was also on the board of trustees at Sinclair Community College, and Sinclair honored her outstanding contribution to the community by naming an Auditorium after her in Building 12.

She died in 2002 at the age of 83 in Dayton. However, the Smithsonian National Postal Museum honored her work with the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion before her death. The institution also recognized her achievement in World War II in a ceremony held in Washington, D.C. in 1996.

Earley’s story screams resilience, courage, and self-determination. Although she could have been discouraged by many things, she chose to persevere despite it all. Her story teaches that achievement is possible as long as hard work and determination are combined. She will forever be remembered not only in African American history but also in women’s history. 

Esperance Amuri, Online Editor