Betty Reid Soskin

During the government shutdown of October 2013, about 800,000 government employees were furloughed, but one in particular spoke up and her voice was heard: that of Betty Reid Soskin, the oldest full-time park ranger in the National Park Service. Today, at the age of 94, Soskin is still working and loving every minute of it because "she feels she is still alive for a purpose - to give a firsthand account about working women during WWII - since she lived through that herself." (http://tinyurl.com/kyhcdrs)

Photo: npr.org

The great-granddaughter of a slave, Soskin was born in 1921 and grew up in New Orleans until a hurricane destroyed her home and her family moved to California. By World War II, Soskin was married to her husband Mel Reid. When the war broke out, they both entered military service but encountered problems due to their race. Mel enlisted in the Navy but because he was black, he wasn't allowed in combat. He chose to leave the service and received an honorable discharge. Soskin worked for the Air Force and her coworkers even said they were comfortable working with an African American, but admitted they wouldn't be if she were in a supervisory position above them. She too walked out of this job. 

Photo: theboldatlsntic.com

Instead, she worked as a clerk for the segregated Boilermakers Union A-36 until she and her husband opened Reid's Records in 1945. In the following years, she and her husband built a home in a white neighborhood so their children could go to better schools, but they were subjected to racism. Soskin's action during WWII, and subsequent move into a segregated neighborhood, set her up to be an activist during the tumultuous 1960s. She became a well-known civil rights songwriter. 

Photo: theboldatlantic.com

In the early 2000s, Soskin sat down to help plan the formation of Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. She had lived through the Home Front experience and brought a unique side of the story: she never considered herself a "Rosie" because that was a white woman's story, but she did contribute to the Home Front war effort and could tell the story of African American women during the war. Today, Soskin splits her work week between the visitor center and the administrative offices of Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front, and she has a sense of urgency to share her stories.

Photo: theboldatlantic.com