Salute Black Female Military Pioneers

Written and submitted
by Rev. Gene Hall

Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So, Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot. Judges 4:14-15

I recently overheard a couple of young teenagers say they would like to be just like women on the television shows Basketball Wives, and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Ironically, because of their flashy clothes and foul language, young girls think this is what black women and our culture is all about. I believe those shows present false narratives of black ladies in America and around the world.
We have just celebrated Memorial Day and will soon enjoy the fourth of July. It took wars and rumors of wars for our nation to receive its independence and sustain it each day. Black women were and still are among the unsung heroes who make it all a reality. Here are a few cases in point:

Women of the 404th
The headline in Smithsonianmag.com by Carrie Hagen read: ‘Seventy-Five Years Ago, the Military’s Only All-Black Female Band Battled the War Department and Won’. The feature exclaimed the women of the 404th Armed Service Forces band raised morale and funds for the military, but they had to fight discrimination to do so. It was the only all black female band in United States Military history.
After delving further, I found out that Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of the National Council for Negro Women and a good friend of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, recruited black women to serve in our country’s military. She, along with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), promoted the message that it was a way to serve one’s country and fight for equality.
In 1944, Major Charity Adams had become the African American training supervisor at Fort Des Moines. One of her favorite parts of the job was nurturing the first and only all black female band. They faced stiff opposition, lack of funding, segregation, and discrimination from many sources. Even so, they not only survived but thrived to un-parallel heights.
In May 1944, according to military historian Bettie Morden, the 404th traveled to Chicago for the Seventh War Bond Drive. They were only supposed to perform in the opening day parade, but the reception was so effusive that they were asked to stay for the rest of the week. They performed at high schools, the Savoy Ballroom, and Soldier Field on stage with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Collectively, their tours raised over $26 billion in six weeks for the U.S. Treasury. I am convinced these women worked to ameliorate many disparities while proving their worth to our nation’s high standards of freedom and equality.

Women of the 6888th
This Central Postal Directory Battalion was a unique U.S. Army unit with the distinction of being the only all African American, all female unit sent overseas during World War II. The unit was organized in 1945 at Birmingham, England.
The women kept mail flowing on behalf of nearly seven million soldiers in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). More than likely they effectively processed mail for many of our close ancestors, since the draft was in effect and very few men escaped serving in our armed forces at that time.
What made the women of the 6888 battalion exceptional? Well, upon their arrival they discovered warehouses crammed from floor to ceiling with mail and packages that had not been delivered for at least two years. Rats bigger than some dogs had broken into some of the Christmas care packages for front line soldiers and eaten their contents. The women pitched mail in damp, poorly lit warehouses without heat, I am told. The job which was supposed to take six months was completed in only three. That is an astonishing feat that I do not believe the actors on Basketball wives could achieve…they might break a few of those expensive fake fingernails; God forbid.

Contemporary Black Military Women
Although not much included in American civics textbooks, black women military heroes were and still are obliterating negative stereotypes. Among the more recent accolades bestowed upon them include: the first woman aircraft maintenance officer, one of the first two women air officers commanding at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the first woman deputy commander for maintenance (Major General Marcelite Harris).
Other female pioneers in African American history with various accomplishments are: Command Sgt. Major Mildred Kelly. In 1972, she became the first Black female Sergeant Major in the U.S. military. Then there is the honorable Hazel Johnson-Brown. She made history after being promoted in 1979 to Brigadier General. With that promotion, she took charge of 7,000 nurses in the Army Nurse Corps, making her the first Black woman general officer to hold that post.
On the cover of the Summer 2021 issue of the American Educator journal the theme states ‘equity flourishes when the whole community comes together’. Within this American Federation of Teachers publication, a poignant question is asked. That is: how do we support historically marginalized students to be independent learners, not just compliant ones?
My rational is that we must teach pupils, especially minority students, about the achievements made by not only persons of mainstream America, but about folks like black women military heroes. In essence, we must be willing to elucidate this history, even when its painful to ourselves and those people and institutions we love. In the case of young persuadable black school girls, infusing more about black women trail blazers should be a pivotal point in their educational journey.