When I first heard about Percival Everett’s James, I thought rewriting Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn from the slave’s perspective was an inventive idea. When I finished reading the book, I thought exploring the interior life of and giving voice to the slave, Jim, was genius.
Evidently, I was not alone, as James won the National Book Award for 2024, and was selected by both The Washington Post and The New York Times Book Review as one of the best books of 2024.
It’s not only the idea of “translating” Huckleberry Finn that’s so incredible to me. It’s the rare and raw telling of what life was like for enslaved people just a couple of decades before the 20th century. Like many others, to more fully appreciate James, I felt compelled to reread Huckleberry Finn.
What struck me most intensely in Twain’s telling of the storywere the ordeals Jim had to suffer for the amusement of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. The boys were not being purposely malicious toward Jim. They—Tom Sawyer in particular—were having an adventure at Jim’s expense, seemingly ignorant of the physical hardship their plans required and apparently oblivious to Jim’s urgent need to rescue his family.
In contrast to Huckleberry Finn, in James, Huck and Jim were friends helping one another. Their trials were shared. Often it was essential for them to be united in plans and purposes to be safe from discovery.The human connection between Huck and Jim is deeper than their status as slave and White boy. Both were seeking their own respective freedoms and they relied on one another for what each could bring to their endeavor.
In Huckleberry Finn, Jim had no agency. If he wanted help he had to acquiesce to every whim of the boys. However, though he appears an unwitting victim in the games the boys played and served as their human toy, he knew the ways of White folks.
In James, it’s clear that knowing the ways of White folks was the best defense against some of the hard realities of being a slave. The next best defense was knowing White folks better than White folks knew the slaves.
In James, Everett expertly describes code switching as if it were a foreign language spoken by people who understood that to be seen as intelligent or even having the desire to learn—such as opening a book or harboring a pencil—could be the difference between life and death.
James is not only genius in its approach as a novel but does what art does best in challenging those who behold it and allow themselves to consider the important questions raised. In what ways do we continue to code switch and employ survival techniques? How can we be more responsible with our own agency, acknowledge and respect the inherent agency and dignity of others, and find balance in it all? How can understanding the varying perspectives of those with whom we travel different parts of life’s journey help all of the parties involved?
With the recent release of The Six Triple Eight on Netflix, it seemed appropriate to reshare this guest blog by Carmen Jordan-Cox, PhD, shedding more light on this remarkable group of women too long overlooked…
I just finished listening on Audible to April Ryan’s book, Black Women Will Save The World: An Anthem. This is a powerful and emotional reflection on the toils and unwavering leadership of Black women in a world in which our contributions are not valued and, in fact, our very selves often are devalued.
This book made me think about those women—“hidden figures” —who, over the decades, have provided the very foundation for all the successes of subsequent generations of Black families. One such group of “hidden figures” is the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion from World War II.
The 6888th was a unique U.S. Army unit that had the distinction of being the only all-female, African American battalion to serve in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Made up of 855 women—824 enlisted and 31 officers—this Women’s Army Corps Battalion was commissioned in Europe between February 1945 and March 1946, and was led by 26-year-old Major Charity Adams.
The specific mission of the 6888th was to sort and clear a multi-year backlog of mail for the American Army, Navy, Air Force, the Red Cross, and uniformed civilian specialists who were stationed in Europe. This represented seven million people awaiting mail.
In February 1945, the first contingent of the 6888th embarked from Camp Shank, New York, to sail for Britain. They survived close encounters with Nazi U-boats and arrived in Glasgow, Scotland, where a German V-1 rocket exploded near the dock. The second contingent of 6888th soldiers docked in March 1945 in Gourock, Scotland.
Upon arrival by train in Birmingham, England, the Battalion confronted warehouses stacked to the ceiling with letters and packages. They endured inhumane working conditions, including dark, unheated, rat-infested aircraft hangars with broken windows and air raids. Despite these conditions, the Battalion created a new mail tracking system, worked 3 separate 8-hour shifts, 7 days a week to process an average of 65,000 parcels per shift (which is 195,000 daily), and cleared the 6-month backlog of mail in 3 months.
After resolving the immense mail backlog in Birmingham, the 6888th Battalion sailed to France for their next assignment in Rouen. They encountered undelivered mail dating back two to three years, which the Battalion again successfully processed and cleared in just three months.
Upon concluding their final assignment in Paris, the last of the Battalion returned to the United States by ship and was disbanded in March 1946 at Fort Dix, New Jersey. There were no parades, public appreciation, or official recognition of their accomplishments.
Adhering to the motto, “No mail, low morale,” the Battalion provided essential support to the U.S. military in the European Theater of Operations by linking service members to their loved ones back home. The 6888th achieved unprecedented success and efficiency in solving the military’s postal problems. The Battalion was the largest contingent of African American women to ever serve overseas, dispelling stereotypes and representing a change in racial and gender roles in the military.
It was not until nearly 80 years later that the 6888th received the well-deserved recognition for their service to the United States. In March 2022, the Battalion became the only women’s military unit to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, which was first awarded to General George Washington in 1776.
Iconic photo from when the last of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) returned home from France. Annie Knight (Jordan) is the woman with the big smile in the top left corner.
The 6888th has a very special significance for me. My mother, Private First Class Annie Knight (Jordan), was one of those brave Battalion soldiers. As kids, my siblings and I always knew that she was in the Women’s Army Corps (something about which she was extremely proud). She mentioned to us that she did Morse code. We just thought of that as being like another language of sorts. It was not until Fall 2022 that we understood that her enlistment classification was not military postal worker. In fact, mom was in a special category called “Cryptographic Code Compiler.” Cryptographers, also known as code breakers, were secretly trained to crack code that provided intelligence information for the Army. Very little is known of the Black women who served in this capacity.
As I learned more about the 6888th, I began to think about how many ”hidden figures” there are and wonder how we might ensure that their stories are shared and their legacies known. I asked questions like, “What inspired these 855 African American women to enlist and pursue the 6888th?” “What gave them the internal fortitude to take on unknown ventures in a dangerous foreign land?” “What made them so different?” and “How did that very difference change the course of their lives post-military service and influence their legacies?”
So, in 2022, I became a first-time podcaster: NextUs818 Podcast is a reflective platform for connecting past successes with future progress in the African American community. There are many African American heroes—some known and many unsung men and women—who helped build this country. Some were the first or only in their fields of endeavor, like the 6888th. Yet little is known about how their unique journeys influenced the trajectory of their familial legacies…such as their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews. The NextUs818 Podcast introduces the multi-generational descendants of these heroes. On the first and third Wednesdays of each month, I interview descendants of an African American hero and explore family lore, traditions, and values, and how the descendant’s journey was directly impacted.
The inaugural season of the NextUS818 Podcast features the descendants of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion. [Four] themes have emerged to help me better understand what inspired the 6888th soldiers and how their service has influenced subsequent generations: patriotism, fearlessness, adventurousness, and unwavering commitment to lifelong learning.
Patriotism: Despite the rampant racial and gender discrimination of early 1940s America, these women were exceptionally patriotic. With the country at war, they felt that it was their DUTY to contribute to the war efforts against the Hitler regime. They eagerly embraced this chance to serve.
Fearlessness: The notion of a young African American woman going into war zones would be darn right scary, even today. Yet these brave women exhibited a remarkable degree of fearlessness.
Adventurousness: Not only did these women demonstrate fearlessness, but they were excited to explore the unknown. As kids, mom always spoke about her adventures, especially once the Battalion moved on to France. In all the stories I heard about the women, they saw serving in the Army as a way of giving them broad exposure and opening post-military opportunities otherwise unavailable to them.
Commitment to lifelong learning: Many of the women went on to attend college after their military service, some using the G.I. Bill when the opportunity was available. (See How the GI Bill’s Promise Was Denied to a Million Black WWII Veterans.) Their unwavering commitment to education deeply influenced their children and grandchildren.
In the NextUs818 Podcast, I enjoy hearing the stories of the soldiers’ civilian lives after World War II. The women of the 6888th were college graduates, teachers, nurses, college deans, and entrepreneurs. As important, they influenced the trajectory of their children and grandchildren who, among other things, are PhDs, physicians, engineers, lawyers, educators, professional musicians, and financial and advertising executives. All of the descendants with whom I have spoken emphasize that their successes are directly attributable to the foundation laid by the women of the 6888th. From them, they learned how to be focused, tenacious, and how to persevere under adverse circumstances. They learned how to survive and thrive. So when we are tempted to live in the moment and think we got here solely on our merit, we must never forget those shoulders on which we stand!
Five final notes:
Fort Lee Redesignation: The U.S. Department of Defense has made a commitment to rename military bases named after individuals associated with the Confederacy and other dark periods in American history. On April 27, 2023, Fort Robert E. Lee [was] renamed “Fort Gregg–Adams” in honor of two trailblazing African American officers: Retired Lt. General Arthur Gregg and the late Lt. Col. Charity Adams (commander of the 6888th Battalion).
6888th Legacy Tour: A group of 6888th descendants and advocates will return to Scotland, England, and France, walking on the grounds where the brave soldiers made history as part of an upcoming 6888th Legacy Tour [in October 2025].
Tyler Perry Studios and Netflix [released their] movie about the 6888th [on December 6, 2024].
Carmen Jordan-Cox, PhD, is a retired university vice president and judge/magistrate. Currently, she is producer and host of NextUs818 Podcast and a freelance curator of stories about descendants of World War II soldiers.
Reading the November issue of the AARP Bulletin about “super agers,” people who seem to defy the common complications of aging and appear destined to live a very long life, I recalled a recent conversation with a friend I’ve known since high school. We laughed as we talked about some of the experiences we’re having as people of a certain age and generation.
We laughed and made jokes about not wanting to live as long as science predicts that super agers might live. We agreed that the most unthinkable downside of living a long life would be outliving loved ones younger than us.
Another major downside of living a long life is the specter of becoming a living, breathing, walking ghost in our own time. Having experienced the loss of friends our age, we find ourselves in communities where we have fewer and fewer peers and no matter where we are, we think we are the oldest in the room.
As we have always done, we looked for the humor in our situation. We decided that we were living ghosts because younger people don’t really see us. They know that we’re here as a presence but not really an entity with whom they should engage. They feel our ghostly presence but not as contributors to the life they’re living.
We don’t blame them for not engaging with us. We understand that they don’t seek conversations with us because they “know” that we probably can’t connect with what they’re talking about regarding their social media interests, music they’re listening to, movies that appeal to them, and the fashions that are most fun and attractive to them. They see us as old-fashioned as we saw our elders when we were young.
We laughed as we shared anecdotes that supported our understanding that we were living, breathing, walking ghosts.
I told her about an experience I had some time ago when I was thrilled to be with a young friend at a club enjoying music and conversation while people-watching. A couple of seats at our table were empty. After some time, a young couple took the seats. After a while they asked “us” if “we” had heard this music group before.
That was the opening to talk about other things that “they” had in common. I care about my young friend, so I was not upset. I was just observant. The three of them engaged in animated conversation throughout the evening, never seeming to notice that I was a living, breathing human sitting with them at this very small table.
I couldn’t believe how unaware they were that I was excluded from the conversation. I don’t think ignoring me was out of malice or even bad manners. It was just how things are.
Thankfully, the situation at the club was the most blatant demonstration of exclusion and being treated as a void that I have had.
My long-time friend and I concluded that we ought to keep these rare instances in perspective and not allow the behavioral inclinations of the young to influence our worth and self-esteem. As we reminded ourselves, we have always swum against the tide and don’t plan to stop swimming any time soon.
Before we get into the next presidential administration, I want to recall the well-deserved praise exhibited at the Democratic National Convention for President Joe Biden. I hope he was able to feel the love and admiration of fellow party members despite the hurt and disappointment he must have felt by being strongly encouraged to give up his bid for a second term.
Despite the fact that Congress blocked his progress by locking the door on many of his initiatives and policies, he kept banging on that door and trying to find another entrance. Besieged and bloodied, he persisted.
He tried to do a course correction to bring the nation in line with its ideals and to take care of the basics that affected not only the nation and what we see as a democracy, but to propose policies that would ensure deserved benefits for those who work for a wage. In his cabinet selections and judicial appointments, he had the courage to address the negative impact of past prejudices and hatred.
Most impressive has been his drive to keep the promises he made. Many of his policies that support his promises regarding infrastructure and job creation will not be realized until well after his administration ends. I hope history will give him the credit he deserves.
I encourage us to take the time to read about the policies that will have the Biden fingerprints on them. President Biden deserves credit for what he accomplished and for what he set in motion that may come to fruition in the future.
I thank President Biden for the sacrifices he made in giving so much of his life to the ideals and promises of this nation and for doing his best in the short time he had to get the job done.
Make no mistake, the upcoming presidential election is consequential. Americans on both sides see this race as being about the future of democracy. By all accounts, the race will be close. No matter what happens, a good portion of the electorate will feel a certain kinda way…
But we’ll be all right BECAUSE this is about the future of democracy.
And the future of democracy is US. It is as much about what we do on November 6, and every day thereafter, as what we do on Election Day. It is about how we carry on. It is about the peaceful transfer of power. It is about checks and balances so no one person or branch wields too much of that power. It is about what we want our communities to be like, and the legacy we want to leave the next generation.
In the heightened media fervor that surrounds elections, it may be hard to see, but people across the country are hard at work building bridges. While polarization is real, the majority (silent as it may be) still resides closer to the middle.
Groups like Braver Angels, One America Movement, and others, are working to turn down the temperature. Democracy and peacebuilding groups like the Carter Center and Search for Common Ground are bringing decades of experience working overseas to address risk factors that they’ve seen arise domestically.
PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement) has been focusing on civic language and perceptions for a few years now. Their most recent research finds people are more positive about a host of civic terms than they were just a couple of years prior. This is not a fluke, but the result of people getting to work, as is the hallmark of democracy and our self-governing society.
As we look ahead to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, let us remember that the next 250 years are not promised to us. No one is going to do the hard work of democracy for us. What the nation will be is always ours to determine.* Our vote is just the start…
*As President Barak Obama noted in his farewell address, the inalienable rights noted in the Declaration of Independence, “while self-evident, have never been self-executing.”
Kaaryn McCall is a communications consultant who, in addition to supporting Dr. Dungy, works with nonprofit organizations to most effectively leverage strategic communications to support their missions.
This is my most important vote, ever. During this messy present, it may be the last time I have the right to vote as an African American woman and the fact that my expiration date is nearing based on statistical data.
I took my sweet time completing my ballot. I started at the bottom and worked my way up to the top of the ballot because I know how important our state and local legislators are to the well-being of the communities in which we live.
Prior to receiving my ballot, I took every opportunity to hear and see candidates and to explore their past records.
When I was not sure about propositions, I didn’t just guess. I took time to learn as much as I could, and I relied on those in the know who I trust to tell me what they knew about judges and others on various boards.
I feel good about the seriousness with which I completed my ballot. If it is my last opportunity to vote, I gave it my best.
There was once a woman, in a land far away, who made a New Year’s resolution about how she wanted to best serve the organization for which she was given the privilege of being executive director.
While membership increase and satisfaction were always at the top of her mind, she wanted to move forward with intention on what some called leading-edge innovations. She wanted to play a role in helping the organization realize its potential.
When she was oriented to her position, it was made clear that she was not to think of herself as the leader representing the organization. She was staff in service to the board who represented the membership. Her role was to carry out the wishes of the board.
After being in the executive position for a while, it became clear to her that in addition to carrying out the directives of the board, she—in collaboration with volunteer members and the staff team—had an incredible opportunity to move the organization forward in ways that would meet members’ needs and be good for higher education.
On the occasions when she ventured beyond the boundaries of how the board envisioned her role, she was chastised and directed to pull back and stay within the bailiwick of what one in her position had always done. She was to keep the mechanics of the machine running smoothly.
These cautions and restrictions puzzled her because colleagues in similar roles were not only allowed visibility but encouraged and rewarded for exhibiting leadership. In her heart, she knew that those who hired her did so because they saw that she wanted to fly and had the determination and courage to test the power of the organization.
After moving forward and often standing up without permission, she eventually learned that in her position, if she wanted to survive, she had to shape-shift depending on the characteristics of the board as a whole and the agendas of specific members of the board.
When there were board leaders who had vision beyond merely maintaining the good standing of the organization, she knew that it was possible not only to claim the organization’s tag line, but to realize what it meant to be the leading voice for student affairs in higher education.
With these forward-thinking leaders, there were test flights into the unknown. Invariably, following such visionary leaders, however, there would be new leaders who thought they had a mandate to rein her in and ground her before there were future flights. They feared that there was too much change too fast.
They thought that there were too many innovations, too many new partnerships outside of student affairs, too much attention to seeking grant support, and a need to be careful about positioning the organization in areas that other organizations had traditionally had a role.
Dismayed but not discouraged by these attitudes, she had faith that what, at times, seemed like the curse and most difficult part of her role was also the best and saving grace. Unlike many organizations with board members who had long tenure, members of her board rotated off in two-year cycles—except for the chair who, given their role as part of the executive committee, served for an additional year. She counted on leaders with whom she could work in partnership to help the organization move toward its highest potential.
In the end, it was not about being seen as a leader. It was about keeping those new year’s resolutions. Being the invisible leader worked just fine in this land far away.
It’s funny how sometimes I can’t remember what I had for breakfast, and yet I’ll remember a comment that I heard weeks ago.
Like many others, I watched CNN’s interview with Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. I thought the questions and responses were what would be expected. Journalist Dana Bash asked the hard questions, and the interviewees gave the kind of responses that one would expect from people running for political office.
What has been unsettling for me is Vice President Harris’ response regarding the evolution of her positions on several critical issues. Rather than an explanation about why she changed her stances, Vice President Harris stated, as I recall it, “My values have not changed.”
What must it be like to feel compelled to make decisions that do not align with one’s values?
I began to try to think of instances in my own life when I made decisions that did not align with my values. What stood out for me was my values about what it means to be a mother. Parenting is one thing, but to me, mothering is on a whole other plane. I value what I think is the innate urge and responsibility to always nurture and protect one’s child at any costs. I value being present when the child says, “Mommie.”
There is a dull ache in my chest and tears on the brink when I think about the decisions I have made that did not align with my values as a mother. Three instances come immediately to mind:
I gave the nurturing and protection of my child to a babysitter when he was six months old. Against my values as a mother, I chose to give more time to my job than to my child. I cried when I had to leave him with the sitter. But I thought, at the time, that I had no choice.
When my child was four years old, his father and I agreed to chaperon a community college student trip. Though we trusted the sitter’s family like our own, I was crying when we left our son with them. It was gut wrenching when he stood at the big picture window and waved goodbye to us. There was no way for him to understand that I would not come for him at the end of the workday as usual. We had never been apart overnight. When his Dad and I reached our destination, we called to talk with him. Without tears and apparent emotion, he asked us, “Are you all coming back?” I didn’t think my broken heart would ever recover from hearing this question from the child I wanted to nurture and protect more than anything in the world. Not intentionally, but in reality, I put my job before my values of mothering.
The most gut-wrenching memory of not living my values of mothering was when our tiny little boy, no more than five or six years, instead of walking the one block to the sitter’s house as usual, walked more than a mile, crossing busy streets, to find his Mommie at her job at the community college. He had the courage to find me; I hadn’t had the courage to live my values of mothering to nurture and protect him at any cost.
Vice President Harris gave me a lot to think about with her comment. I don’t think I was a bad or neglectful mother when it came to the essentials, but like many others who put their job high on their list of priorities, I hid behind the term “quality time.” We assuaged our guilt in not spending more time with our children by saying that the amount of time was not the most important thing, it was what we did during the time we were with them. Regardless of how I might have colored it during my time as the mother of a child, I made decisions that did not align with my values as a mother.
I can say from experience that the feelings provoked when making decisions that don’t align with one’s values are not fleeting but forever imprinted on a heart that wanted to do the right thing—to make decisions that aligned with one’s values.
Recently, a friend and I went to see the play Hamilton. Like so many others, we never tire of the experience. For us, the musical does not lose its luster no matter how many times we see it. Whether it’s on Broadway or in the desert, we love it. There are so many songs and so much dialogue that just become a part of us. After this recent show, the song that stuck in my mind was Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story.
Innumerable biographies tell stories of extraordinary people who leave great and lasting legacies as a result of their talents, activism, and contributions to the uplift of humankind and to the sustainability of life as we know it. These legendary people leave their mark through acts that become a part of the history of the world. Their impact is usually broad and powerful.
One does not have to die famous to leave a mark. Not all people who leave their mark are widely known and celebrated. Ordinary people also leave their mark. A brief obituary does not mean that the deceased did not leave their mark.
Leaving your mark is not always about the number and magnitude of notable public contributions. It’s not about the number of people who knew about you. Your circle may be small including a few friends and relatives who will remember you and the influence you had on them. Leaving your mark is the impact you had on others, no matter the number or magnitude.
During an interview for Esquire, renowned author Stephen King, said that he would like to be known “as somebody who died merry—who did his work the best he could and was decent to other people.”
With this statement, the author left his mark on me because he put into words my heart’s final desires.
Call me old-fashioned for an expectation of decorum and socially acceptable behavior in certain circumstances and in particular places. Because it’s so rare and certainly not a requirement, I am moved in a good way when someone demonstrates politeness in even the smallest of ways.
A weird example of my appreciation for politeness is after an interaction with automated customer service. It is most frustrating when there are no humans with whom one can speak when one needs information that is “none of the above” among the choices offered. I’m ecstatic when what I think is a human being speaks to me, gives me their name, listens, and attempts to help.
It makes my day when I’m walking closely behind someone and that person holds the door for me rather than letting it shut in my face.
Basic words like “please” and “thank you” given with a semblance of sincerity harkens back to a time when parents used to tell their children to “behave like you have home training.” Or they might say, “Don’t embarrass us when you go out in public,” or, “Don’t be uncouth.”
I’m not saying that “back in the day” most people were courteous and today no one is polite. It just seems to me that the expectation of decorum and socially acceptable behavior is seen as an infringement on another’s rights to be as disrespectful and undignified as they want to be.
I also support the idea of being able to be free to act and behave as one desires whether it’s uncouth or not. I think the line needs to be drawn, however, when your freedom to be who you want to be infringes on the freedom and sensibilities of another person.
I hope some of you who know me realize that my complaining about manners is just a way to distract myself from onset disenchantment as I fear a future of conflict rather than community.
Gwen Dungy 