About this episode

The episode honors the life and legacy of activist Betty Reid Soskin, highlighting her contributions and experiences as a Black woman during World War II and her role as a national park ranger.

On December 21, 2025, activist and trailblazer Betty Reid Soskin passed away in Richmond, California. She was 104. Over the years we've chronicled Betty's remarkable story and want to share it today in honor of Betty and Black History Month. In 2011, at age 89, Betty became America's oldest national park service ranger, a position she held until she retired at 100. Her bold and forthright tours and talks at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front Museum were legendary. As a Black woman who worked in the segregated war effort, she spoke from her personal experience revealing a fuller, richer understanding of the World War II years experienced by women and people of color on the home front. Betty's Creole/Cajun family was from New Orleans and her great grandmother had been born into slavery in 1846. Displaced by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, Betty moved with her family to Oakland, where she grew up in the late 20s and 30s. During WWII she worked as a file clerk for Boilermakers Union A-36, a Jim Crow all Black union auxiliary, where she witnessed firsthand the discrimination faced by Black workers in the wartime industry. Betty raised four children in the highly segregated…

People in this episode

Guest: Betty Reid Soskin

Topics covered

• activism
• Black history
• women's rights
• segregation
• personal narrative
• national parks
• community impact

Keywords

• Betty Reid Soskin
• activism
• Black history
• national park ranger
• segregation
• World War II
• Rosie the Riveter
• Great Mississippi Flood
• community
• personal story

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front Museum, Boilermakers Union A-36, California State Assembly

Places: Richmond, California, New Orleans, Oakland, Berkeley

More episodes of The Kitchen Sisters Present

• Requiem for Larry Massett · April 21, 2026 · 53 min
• Lutah Maria Riggs Designs the American Riviera · April 7, 2026 · 43 min
• Have a Seat, The Casting Director Will See You Shortly – The Legends of Juliet Taylor & Ellen Lewis · March 13, 2026 · 36 min
• Everyone's a Casting Director – The First-Ever Academy Award for Achievement in Casting with Host Frances McDormand · March 4, 2026 · 1h 16m
• Louis Jones - Activist Archivist, Detroit · February 17, 2026 · 23 min
• The Giving Game: Andrew Carnegie and the Evils of Wealth · January 20, 2026 · 35 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Kitchen Sisters Present podcast page.