Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 3-22-19

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019
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In Recognition Of Women’s History Month:
250 Girls R.I.Z.E. In Downtown Tampa March
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
Approximately 250 mid- dle school girls, with a sprin- kling of elementary and high school girls, took to the streets of downtown Tampa on Tuesday, March 12th, in recognition of Women’s His- tory Month.
The march, the first of its kind in the area, was a men- toring and educational event hosted by the Hillsborough County Public Schools Out- reach and School Improve- ment Full Service Centers. The march was sponsored by Girls R. I. Z. E. (Resilient, In- telligent, Zealous and Em- powered).
Crystal Russell, Pro- gram Manager, Outreach and School Improvement at Sanchez Full Service Center, says Girls R. I. Z. E. is an out- growth of several other men- toring groups.
“With this being Women’s History Month, we wanted to empower, motivate, and edu- cate our girls that you can be whoever you want to be. We targeted this age group so that we could share with them some local, fabulous women who they can identify with,” she said.
Retired educator and former School Board Member, Doris Ross Reddick, seated, is shown with: current School Board Members, Cindy Stuart and Karen Perez; former School Board Member, Doretha Edgecomb, and School Board Chair, Tamara Shamburger.
on the School Board, who also became chairman, also par- ticipated in the march.
The girls received addi- tional motivational messages from U. S. Rep. Kathy Cas- tor’s Office, Karen Skyers, Esq., represented the office of Nikki Fried, Florida Com- missioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, pro golfer and instructor, Alice Brown (LPGA); and the Honorable Judge Cheryl Thomas, who also ignited the group when she said, “all rise,” with
reference to their R. I. Z. E. The girls enjoyed lunch at the School District Office, where they met School Board members; Melissa Mor- gado, Hillsborough County Public Schools Supervisor of International Studies; and Supt. Jeff Eakins, who also offered words of encourage-
ment and motivation.
In addition to lunch, the
girls received a backpack full of goodies. (Photos cour- tesy of the School District of Hillsborough County)
The girls carried bright, colorful signs that they de- signed along the march route from Rampello Center to the Edgecomb Courthouse, and back to the School Board Dis- trict Office, where they en- joyed lunch.
They were accompanied by several chaperones, and escorted by the Tampa Police Dept. (some on bikes). They
were also joined by the mas- cots and cheerleaders of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Once the girls arrived at the Edgecomb Courthouse, they enjoyed a real rally, fired up by retired educator and former School Board member Doretha Edgecomb. Mrs. Doris Ross Reddick, the first African-American female
The girls marched to the Edgecomb Courthouse, where they stood in front of ‘Lady Justice’ and were empowered by Mrs. Edge- comb, center.
Women Of The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
The Women’s Army Corps (WAC) of the U. S. Army was created by a law signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 1 July 1943. The WAC was converted from the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps which had been created in 1942, but did not have offi- cial military status.
New WAC recruits under- went four to six weeks of basic training, which included a physical training program, often followed by four to twelve weeks of specialist training. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Civil Rights leader Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune success- fully advocated for the admit- tance of African American women as enlisted personnel and officers in the WAC, al- though as in the rest of the Army, segregation prevailed.
In November 1944, the War Department acquiesced. Despite slow recruitment of volunteers, a battalion of 817 (later 824) enlisted personnel and 31 officers, all African American women drawn from the WAC, the Army Service Forces, and the Army Air Forces, was created and even-
MAJOR CHARITY ADAMS EARLEY ... Commander of the
6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
tually designated as the 6888th Central Postal Direc- tory Battalion, nicknamed “Six Triple Eight.”
The 6888th included a Headquarters Company for administrative and service support and Companies A, B, C, and D, each commanded by a captain or first lieutenant. Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Charity Edna Adams (who took the sur- name Earley upon her mar- riage in 1949) was selected to command the battalion.
In January 1945, the women traveled by train to
WOMEN OF THE 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion
mony. There were no parades, no public appreciation, and no official recognition of their ac- complishments.
The history of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Bat- talion has been explored and celebrated in written ac- counts, documentaries, mu- seum exhibits, and public ceremonies.
Members of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Bat- talion were awarded the Euro- pean African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal during their service.
Mary Ragland and Alyce Dixon, former mem- bers of the 6888th, were hon- ored by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in 2009.
On Nov. 30, 2018, Fort Leavenworth dedicated a monument to the women of the 6888th Central Postal Di- rectory Battalion. Five women from the Battalion - Maybeel Campbell, Elizabeth Johnson, Lena King, Anna Robertson and De- loris Ruddock were present at the dedication.
Camp Shanks, New York, their embarkation point. On 3 Feb- ruary 1945, the first contin- gent of the battalion sailed for Britain.
In Birmingham, England, the women of “Six Triple Eight” confronted warehouses stacked to the ceiling with let- ters and packages.
The unit members were organized into three separate eight-hour shifts so work con- tinued around the clock, seven days a week. They tracked in- dividual service members by maintaining about seven mil-
lion information cards includ- ing serial numbers to distin- guish different individuals with the same name.
The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion produced great results in Birmingham. They processed an average of 65,000 pieces of mail per shift and cleared the six-month backlog of mail in three months.
In February 1946, the re- mainder of the unit returned to the United States and was disbanded at Fort Dix, New Jersey, without further cere-