DAYTON — Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams-Earley’s military life is showcased in the Netflix movie “The Six Triple Eight”, but not much is known about her personal life.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30 p.m., the Charity Adams-Earley Girls Academy in Dayton is named after the commanding officer of the 6888, the all-black female-run Central Postal Directory Battalion in World War II.
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In 2024, famed producer Tyler Perry released the movie “The Six Triple Eight” on Netflix, detailing the extraordinary military career of the troop led by the highest-ranking African-American woman in the army.
The sixth-grade students at the academy have seen the 2024 Netflix film “The Six Triple Eight” which highlights Adams-Earley and the 6888, and they know the history of their school’s namesake well.
“She was born in 1918. She graduated valedictorian from Booker T. Washington High School in 1934,” a sixth grader at Charity Adams Girls Academy, Jade Freeman, said.
When asked about the examples set by a strong female military leader like Adams-Earley, another sixth-grader, Quri Barber, said: “Taught me to never give up and to always stand up for myself.”
Adams-Earley retired to Dayton and raised her family here. In 2008, her daughter Judith Earley moved back to the city where she was raised.
She told News Center 7′s Letitia Perry she is so proud of the girl’s academy named after her mom: A woman who faced racism, prejudice, and unfair treatment while growing up in the 20′s and again in the military.
Earley said that while today’s challenges may be different, the lesson for young girls is the same.
“If that generation can overcome what they did, the next generation can overcome what they’re facing,” Earley said.
The Earley family was pleased with the “The Six Triple Eight” movie project.
So is the principal of the Charity Adams Girl’s Academy Karla Goins, and the dozens of girls she took to see it.
“That really struck up an excitement and they now made a connection. So they knew that Charity Adams was a great and phenomenal woman and I think that movie helped them and they said wow,” Goins said.
Charity Adams-Earley graduated from Wilberforce University and later earned a master’s degree from the Ohio State University.
Education was important to her, so it’s easy to draw a connection with the girl’s school.
A lesser-known operation that also seeks to honor her is the 6888 Kitchen Incubator in the Dayton Arcade.
“Even in her passing, she’s still a legend and she still means a lot to the Black community,” Martina Scott with the 6888 Kitchen Incubator said.
Earley said that the food industry honors her mother through hard work and preparation.
The movie about Admas-Earley’s time in the military explains how soldier morale was boosted thanks to her troop’s work to clear years of mail backlog in record time.
However the movie doesn’t delve into her personal life in Dayton after she retired.
She served on the board of the DP&L, the Red Cross, NAACP, Sinclair Community College and the Urban League after her Military Service.
“To me- she was just my mom.... people just seem to speak so fondly about her and how kind-hearted she was,” Earley said.
Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams-Earley died at the age of 83 in 2002 and was laid to rest at Woodland Cemetery in Dayton.
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