[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1399 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1399
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 2, 2024
Mrs. Beatty (for herself, Mr. Turner, Ms. Brown, Mr. Carey, Mr. Carter
of Louisiana, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Leger
Fernandez, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Mr. Frost, Mr.
Garamendi, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Kelly
of Illinois, Mrs. McBath, Mr. Mfume, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr.
Neguse, Ms. Plaskett, Mrs. Ramirez, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Thompson of
Mississippi, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Wenstrup, and Ms. Williams of Georgia)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Oversight and Accountability
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
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.
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