June Book & Film Discussion featuring author Joshunda Sanders
On June 25th we’re featuring the novel Women of the Post by author Joshunda Sanders. She will join us via Zoom.
Supplemental viewing: Six Triple Eight (film)
About the book:
Named a Most Anticipated Book of Summer by Ms. Magazine, PopSugar, Lambda Literary, and many more!
Inspired by true events, Women of the Post brings to life the heroines who proudly served in the all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps in WWII, finding purpose in their mission and lifelong friendship.
1944, New York City. Judy Washington is tired of having to work at the Bronx Slave Market, cleaning white women’s houses for next to nothing. She dreams of a bigger life, but with her husband fighting overseas, it’s up to her and her mother to earn enough for food and rent. When she’s recruited to join the Women’s Army Corps–offering a steady paycheck and the chance to see the world–Judy jumps at the opportunity.
During training, Judy becomes fast friends with the other women in her unit–Stacy, Bernadette and Mary Alyce–who all come from different cities and circumstances. Under Second Officer Charity Adams’s leadership, they receive orders to sort over one million pieces of mail in England, becoming the only unit of Black women to serve overseas during WWII.
The women work diligently, knowing that they’re reuniting soldiers with their loved ones through their letters. However, their work becomes personal when Mary Alyce discovers a backlogged letter addressed to Judy. Told through the alternating perspectives of Judy, Charity and Mary Alyce, Women of the Post is an unforgettable story of perseverance, female friendship and self-discovery.
“A moving and compelling tribute to the lives and legacy of Black women in the American military during World War II that feels especially poignant in this moment.” — The Boston Globe
Joshunda Sanders is an award-winning author, journalist, and speechwriter. A former Obama administration political appointee, her fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in dozens of anthologies. She received a Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) fiction grant and has been awarded residencies and fellowships by several literary institutions. This is her first novel.
Supplemental viewing
In February 1945, the U.S. Army sent 855 black women from the Women’s Army Corps “WACs” to England and France to clear the backlog of mail in the European Theater of Operations. The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, known as the SixTripleEight, was the only all-black female battalion to serve in Europe during WWII. Confronted with racism and sexism from their own leadership and troops, they served with honor and distinction completing their mission in six months. By war’s end, the SixTripleEight had cleared over 17 million pieces of backlogged mail ensuring the troops stayed in touch with their loved ones back home. The last of the women returned home in March 1946. They were never fully recognized until now.—Malcholm Reese
