You have the burden to be better: “The Six Triple Eight” movie review

By: Rivy Mosegi, Opinion Editor

Movies have always been one of those things I’m extremely picky about. I honestly don’t like watching movies at all unless they’re about war or romance, or are a deep psychological thriller. But I recently came across a YouTube short of a movie scene from “The Six Triple Eight” of an interracial couple, and it immediately intrigued me.

“The Six Triple Eight” was released in December of 2024 and directed by the notable Tyler Perry and Kerry Washington, who also stars as Charity Adams – a commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion during WWII. The movie tells the historical story of the only all-Black, all-female battalion sent to Europe during WWII to sort through seventeen million pieces of mail. Millions of letters and packages meant for American soldiers piled up in warehouses across Europe, particularly in England and France. Morale among troops was dropping because they weren’t getting mail from home. After multiple failed attempts to fix this issue, the U.S. Army decided to send the 6888th Battalion – formed entirely of Black women from the Women’s Army Corps.

To say the least, this movie was absolutely incredible. It captures so clearly the courage, determination and strength of Black women in the army. Not only were they discriminated against for being both Black and women, but they also worked in harsh conditions within freezing warehouses, surrounded by rats and often went long hours without sleep. Despite all of this, these women managed to process over seventeen million pieces of mail in just 60 days – even though the time limit given was six months.

For a moment of honesty, I had never even heard the story of the 6888th until watching this movie – and that realization frustrated me. I wish stories like this, showing the resilience of Black men and women, were part of school and university curricula. This movie deeply impacted my soul; I cried multiple times, and it has stayed with me ever since. It reminded me of the urgency to never forget these parts of history – the resilience of our Black and Brown sisters in all sectors of life. At the end of the film, two of the last surviving members of the 6888th – Anna Mae Robertson and Lena Derriecott – were interviewed. The actors had the privilege of spending time with them, both of whom passed away shortly after the film was made. Anna Mae Robertson died at 101 years old in May of 2025, and Lena Derriecott died at the age of 100 in January of 2024.

Kerry Washington plays Major Charity Adams, the commanding officer of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion during WWII. She was the first Black woman to become an officer in the Women’s Army Corps and, by the end of the war, the highest-ranking African American woman in the U.S. Army. Early in the film, she says something that stuck with me: “You are not only in the army, you are women, and you are Negroes, and because you are Negro and women, you do not have the luxury to be as good as the white soldiers. You have the burden to be better.” You have the burden to be better.

I loved that entire line because it reminded me of something my father used to say to me and my siblings when we attended Catholic schools that, of course, were predominantly white institutions. He would always tell us that we not only had to be “good,” but we had to be the “best.” This movie made me reflect deeply, as a multiracial woman, on the many lessons Black and Brown parents pass down to their children – the sense of responsibility from a young age and the burden that Black children have carried throughout history to always be better.

This movie was phenomenal, and I encourage everyone to take the time this weekend to watch and support it – to remember the history and the names of these amazing women whose stories were once forgotten but are now finally brought to light. At the end of the film, all 850 women were named, and their legacy will continue to live on, shining light on a powerful part of history that can never again be overlooked.