Charity Edna Adams Earley was the first African American woman to be an officer in the Woman’s Army Air Corps and was the commanding officer of the first battalion of African American women to serve overseas during WWII.

Early life and education

Born in 1918 in Kittrell, Vance County, North Carolina, Adams' father was a minister and her mother was a teacher. Adams was the oldest of four children. She graduated from Booker T. Washington High School and Wilberforce University

Wilberforce University

Wilberforce University is a private, coed, liberal arts historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans...

 in Ohio, majoring in math and physics. After graduation she returned to Columbia, teaching school and attended graduate school at Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

 during the summer months.

Woman's Army Corps

Adams enlisted in the U.S. Army's Woman’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in July 1942. She was the first African American woman to be an officer in the WAAC. Later she served as the commanding officer and battalion commander of the first battalion of African American women (6888th Central Postal Direction) to serve overseas during WWII (in England). They helped soldiers get mail during World War II.

Educator

After serving in the Army, she earned a master’s degree in psychology from Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

 and became an educator at Tennessee A&I College

Tennessee State University

Tennessee State University is a land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee. TSU is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee.-History:...

 and Georgia State College

Savannah State University

Savannah State University is a four-year, state-supported, historically black university located in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah State holds the distinction as the oldest public historically black university in Georgia...

.

Family

Adams married a physician, Stanley A. Earley, M.D., after the war in 1949; they had two children; a son, Stanley III; and a daughter, Judith.

Awards and honors

Adams was listed on the Smithsonian Institution’s 110 most important historical Black women, Black Women Against the Odds, in 1982. She was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame in 1993. She was inducted into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame in 1991.

Earley was included in the 1997 edition of the BellSouth African-American History Calendar.

External links

• http://www.usca.edu/aasc/earley.htm
• http://www.answers.com/topic/charity-adams-earley
• http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/bookrev/kingseed.html
• http://www.ondeckvideo.com/charity-adams-earley-bio.html
• http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/2009/ms009089.pdf
• http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=61205558