"Betty leaves behind a powerful legacy for all of us and certainly within the National Park Service. Her thoughtful, introspective musings about the Civil Rights movement and the women's movement and how they intersected are some of the unique moments that I will always treasure...Thanks to Betty we've learned that we can hold multiple conflicting truths at the same time."
"She used her personal experience to tell a different version of World War II history, one that didn't sugarcoat the discrimination that Black workers experienced during the war effort. She did so with great charisma, humor and vivid storytelling that quickly caught the public's attention and made visitors fall in love with her."
Betty Reid Soskin, who died at age 104, was a pioneering figure who shaped how America understands World War II history. She worked as a file clerk for the Boilermakers Union representing Black shipyard workers in Richmond during the war. Later, she co-owned Reid's Records in Berkeley, one of California's first Black-owned record stores and a major gospel music retailer. At 85, Soskin became a National Park Service ranger at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, where she used personal storytelling and charisma to present an inclusive narrative that exposed the discrimination Black workers faced. Her legacy emphasizes holding multiple conflicting truths simultaneously about American history.
Read at The Oaklandside
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