COLUMBIA, S.C. — A pioneer in Black history now has her name and legacy permanently etched into Fort Jackson.
Fort Jackson redesignated its Army support institute campus Tuesday in honor of Columbia native Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams, the first black woman to become an officer in the U.S. Army.
Lieutenant Adams was born in December 1918 in North Carolina before moving to Lady Street in Columbia as a child as told by a reenactment from Major Laura Rollins.
“After graduating valedictorian of my high school class I studied math, Latin, and physics, at the historically black Wilberforce College in Ohio,” Rollins explained.
But while studying for a master's in 1942, during World War II, Adams enlisted in the brand new Women’s Auxiliary Corps.
“I went on to finish the Army’s first female officer candidate course in Fort Des Moines, Iowa August 1942,” Rollins said.
After completing her training, she was promoted to major the highest-ranking black female officer in the Army. In December 1944 she took her leadership to Birmingham, England.
“and was placed in command of a postal directory company of over 800 African American women,” she said.
While Adams passed away in 2002 she paved the way for women like Major Laura Rollins.
“There’s no other way that I can say thank you to some of the opportunities that they set before us,” Rollins said.
The Army Support Institute will provide training for soldiers to become experts in finance, human resources, and more.