|
119th CONGRESS
2d Session |
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, as an entity of the United States Postal Service, should issue a commemorative stamp in honor of Charity Adams Earley.
Mrs. Beatty (for herself, Mr. Turner of Ohio, Ms. Brown, Mr. Carey, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Carson, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Frost, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Mfume, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Neguse, Ms. Norton, Ms. Sewell, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Veasey, Ms. Williams of Georgia, and Ms. Ross) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee, as an entity of the United States Postal Service, should issue a commemorative stamp in honor of Charity Adams Earley.
Whereas Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley became the first Black officer in the United States Army’s Women’s Army Corps (WAC), persevering through the Army’s segregated environment and ultimately leading the 3d Company, 3d Training Regiment, made up of 2 White platoons and 1 Black platoon;
Whereas Charity Adams Earley was born on December 5, 1918, in Kittrell, North Carolina, and grew up in a family of educators, her father was a minister and her mother was a former school teacher;
Whereas, after graduating high school 2 years early as valedictorian of her class, Adams chose to attend Wilberforce University, a historically Black school in Ohio, where she majored in mathematics, physics, and Latin;
Whereas, during her college tenure, she was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Women’s Self-Government Association, and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority;
Whereas Adams obtained her bachelor’s degree in 1938, and taught math and science to junior high school students for the next 4 years while taking summer classes at the Ohio State University in pursuit of a master’s degree in psychology;
Whereas, in 1942, Adams applied for entry into the WAC and reported for training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, where she experienced the Army’s policies of segregation, White and Black candidates were separated and sent to different living units;
Whereas, in 1943, Adams was promoted to Major, making her the highest ranking female officer at Fort Des Moines and one of the highest ranking WAC officers in the Nation;
Whereas, in 1944, Adams was given command of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, stationed in Birmingham, England, where she led the first Black WAC unit overseas;
Whereas Adams’ unit was tasked with organizing and sorting mail for delivery to the United States soldiers in the European Theater and given just 6 months to clear large backlogs of mail, and the unit completed the job in half of the time;
Whereas, for her service, Adams was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, the highest possible rank for a soldier in the WAC;
Whereas, after the end of World War II, Adams went on to finish her studies at Ohio State University, completing her master’s degree in vocational psychology;
Whereas Adams married Stanley A. Earley, Jr., in 1949, and the couple raised their 2 children in Dayton, Ohio;
Whereas, in 1982, Adams Earley became the founder of the Black Leadership Development Program which focused on teaching young African-Americans to be leaders in their communities;
Whereas, on January 13, 2002, at the age of 83, Mrs. Charity Adams Earley passed away in Dayton, Ohio;
Whereas Adams Earley has been recognized by the National Postal Museum, the National Women’s History Museum, the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame, the Smithsonian Institution, the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame, and many others for her dedicated service to the country and work on promoting opportunities for Black Americans;
Whereas, on March 14, 2022, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the members of the WAC assigned to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, including posthumously to their commander, Charity Adams Earley;
Whereas, on April 27, 2023, Fort Lee, Virginia, was officially renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams;
Whereas, on June 12, 2024, the Dayton, Ohio, VA Medical Center officially renamed its women’s clinic the “Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams Earley Women’s Clinic”; and
Whereas issuing a postage stamp to honor Charity Adams Earley is fitting and proper: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that—
(1) the United States Postal Service should issue a postage stamp honoring Charity Adams Earley; and
(2) the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued.