Women at war: Kerry Washington & Tyler Perry talk to RTÉ Arena

The Six Triple Eight was the only black female battalion of the US Army to be stationed overseas during the Second World War. Their task while in Europe was a unique one – to sort the millions of letters to and from the front that the meagre postal service of the era was unable to cope with.

The story of this remarkable battalion and the work they did has been dramatized in a new film from writer/director Tyler Perry. It stars Kerry Washington as Major Charity Adams, who led these women and held her own in a deeply racist and deeply sexist institution.

Perry and Washington first worked together on Perry's For Colored Girls (2010) and have since maintained a creative friendship. With The Six Triple Eight, their shared passion for highlighting overlooked chapters of history comes full circle, as they chronicle the extraordinary story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.

The Six Triple Eight is streaming on Netflix now.