Precious Few Can Now Tell The True Story!
The U.S. Armed Forces in World War Two,
Fought all over the world;
While women and blacks and immigrants,
On Home Front their strengths they unfurled.
Building ships, and planes, and tanks, and supplies,
Enabling victory in worldwide glory;
But in past seventy years, many have died,
Precious few can now tell the true story!
© Forrest W. Heaton. November 2018
This is the third post in our trilogy on Immigration to America, a topic currently being derided for base political gain (yes, double entendre and, yes, sad) as opposed to celebrated for its creation of the nation we have become and are becoming. We’ve heard from a number of readers who applauded our coverage of the topic under the banner of care for our planet. We also received recommendations as to whom we might consider covering in parts 2 and 3 of the trilogy—John Muir ending up as our selection for part 2 which blasted at noon Saturday, 11 Nov.
For our final post in this trilogy, writing under the banners of both planet and parks, we’ve chosen to cover a person recommended by two separate readers, both noting this woman is a descendant of a great grandmother born into slavery, understands the perspective of immigrants/minorities from first-hand experience, and, at age ninety-seven, packs the halls with live presentations on behalf of the National Park Service about the contributions of hundreds of thousands of immigrants and descendants of immigrants to America. Her name: Betty Reid Soskin. If you are familiar with Betty’s story, we believe you’ll still find new information of interest in this post. If you are unfamiliar with her, we guarantee you will find this inspirational!
Background. Born Betty Charbonnet in 1921, father of Creole (mixed European and black descent) background, mother of Cajun (southern Louisiana descendants of French Canadians) background, great grandmother born into slavery in 1846. Betty has lived her, to date, ninety-seven years immersed in the issues of minorities in a predominantly white society, women in a predominantly male-dominated society, and immigrants coming to, working in, and contributing to America.
Credit: NPS Photo/Luther Bailey
Ranger Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center.
Brief Bio. At age 97, Betty is the oldest National Park Service Park Ranger serving in the U.S. Wearing her crisp, green NPS uniform with the iconic NPS brimmed campaign hat, Betty comes to work five days a week at Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, CA near San Francisco. Farai Chideya, in her Nov 18 Women of the Year article in Glamour wrote: “ ‘What gets remembered is determined by who is in the room doing the remembering,’ Betty Reid Soskin likes to say. So she’s made it her singular purpose to always be in the room.” In our research about Betty, it quickly became clear she understood early on that the story of the contributions to the World War II effort by women and African-Americans would be muddled or non-existent if told by white men. She felt that the U.S. needed a well-spoken, passionate African-American woman, a place to tell the story, and that the story needs to be told—every day now and into the future! Thus, she became central in the development of this NPS National Historical Park and has been, since its opening in 2000, its prime story-teller, consistently filling the theatre to capacity for each of her presentations.
Book. Betty’s recent book, Sign My Name to Freedom: A memoir of a Pioneering Life, published Feb 18, is available on Amazon. Here’s Amazon’s author note: “Betty Reid Soskin has been a home front war years worker, a singer-songwriter and performer, a writer, a legislative aide, a National Parks ranger, a national icon, and an honest and tireless fighter, both against discrimination of all forms and for the growth and triumph of the human spirit and values that would benefit us all.”
Blog. We must confess, dear Heaton Publications blog readers, that we find it inspirational that, at age 97, Betty not only writes her own blog but contributes almost daily! Here’s Amazon’s note re her blog: “In her blog . . . she writes, ‘Life has never been richer, nor more abundantly lyrical,’ and ‘I’ve grown into someone I’d like to know—were I not me already!’” Website: cbreaux.blogspot.com.
Learn More. As you dig deeper into Betty’s life and how she has so positively influenced others worldwide, we believe you will find inspiration in her story and helpful detail about the contributions of women/minorities/immigrants to our nation’s survival/growth about which you were previously unfamiliar. Way to go Betty! Although not a National Park Service campaign hat, we take our hat off to YOU!