Charity Adams Earley: A Pioneer For African American Women
Charity Adams Earley (1918-2002)
A Pioneer for African American Women in the Military and Education
Charity Adams Earley
Charity Adams Earley was born on December 5, 1918, in Kittrell, North Carolina. Earley’s parents believed very strongly in education and pushed her and her siblings to excel in everything they did. Several years ahead of her peers, Earley graduated from Booker T. Washington High School as valedictorian.
While on scholarship at Ohio State University, Earley studied mathematics, Latin, physics, history and education. She belonged to the school’s branch of the NAACP, Delta Sigma Theta, and Women's Self-Governing Association. After receiving her Bachelors of Arts in 1938, she taught junior high math and science. During her summers, she studied for her Masters in Vocational Psychology.
When WWII broke out the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was created and Earley applied and got accepted in July of 1942. She was stationed at Fort Des Moines for 2 years. She went from staff training officer to a station control officer and then company commander. In 1943, she was promoted to major, which made her the first African-American woman and highest ranking female officer at the training center.
In 1944, Early became commanding officer of the first battalion of African-American women to serve overseas during World War II (the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion). While serving, Earley never accepted racism. A general once threatened to assign a white first lieutenant and told Earley to “show her how to run this unit.” Earley replied with, “Over my dead body, sir.” She knew that she was the best for the job. She even pushed her unit to not accept segregated quarters and ordered them to socialize with the white soldiers and citizens. With time, her persistence and leadership created a culture of comradeship.
On December 26, 1945, Earley was promoted to lieutenant colonel for her work in the WAC. After her time in the military, Earley finished her Masters and then became dean at Tennessee State University and Georgia State University. She later moved to Germany for several years while her husband finished medical school. Early learned how to speak German fluently in 10 months at Minerva Institute in Germany. She then spent two years at the University of Zurich and then took some courses at the Jungian Institute of Analytical Psychology.
In the 50’s, Earley went back to the US doing civic work in Ohio, sitting on several local boards. She later founded the Black Leadership Development Program (BLDP) in Dayton in 1982 and helped create Parity Inc. in 2000. In 1996, Early was honored in a ceremony at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum for her achievements and contributions in WWII. Charity Adams Earley passed away at 83 on January 13, 2002.