Recognizing Betty Reid Soskin

Floor Speech

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Mr. DeSAULNIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service of esteemed public servant, activist, and great American Betty Reid Soskin.

Betty is a constituent, a friend, and a pillar of Contra Costa County in the Bay Area in California. She is fondly known as the National Park Service's oldest serving ranger, at 98 years old, and is assigned to the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California.

As an interpretive park ranger for the past 13 years, Betty has educated thousands of visitors about the Rosies and her own experience as a young Black woman working in Richmond during World War II. She worked as a file clerk for the Boilermakers Union A-36, a Jim Crow, all African American union auxiliary.

Betty has been an activist her whole life. She fought for civil rights during Freedom Summer, was an activist against the Vietnam war, helped with faith-based racial healing work in the Unitarian Universalist church, and became a delegate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention.

Betty also served as a legislative aide for a Berkeley city council member and as a field representative for two California State Assembly members, which led to her involvement in designing the Rosie the Riveter National Park. Her advocacy ensured that marginalized communities' narratives and stories were included in the park's historical exhibits and resources on the war efforts in Richmond, California.

In 1995, Betty was named a Woman of the Year by the California State Legislature. She was also named one of the Nation's 10 outstanding women in 2006 by the National Women's History Project.

In 2015, she was formally recognized by President Barack Obama, who gave her a silver coin with the Presidential seal.

Born in 1921, Betty has lived through many pivotal moments in U.S. history and is a crucial voice in speaking to the value of American democracy, the realities of the African American struggle, and the importance of continued progress.

In an interview for a feature in Glamour magazine, Betty said, when she was Woman of the Year: ``Democracy has been experiencing these periods of chaos since 1776. They come and go. And it's in those periods that democracy is redefined. History has been written by people who got it wrong, but the people who are always trying to get it right have prevailed. If that were not true,'' Betty said, ``I would still be a slave like my great-grandmother.''

Betty's colleagues, fans, and friends deeply admire her activism, her leadership, and her dedication to social justice and to America. Her positivity, sense of self, and commitment to doing what is right and preserving and honoring our past continue to inspire us all.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating and celebrating this wonderful American's dedicated service and in wishing her a speedy recovery and good health. Her strong spirit and perseverance are an inspiration to us all.

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