Betty Reid Soskin, who served as the United States’ oldest active park ranger and became a celebrated voice for sharing firsthand accounts of segregation, died on Sunday, December 21, 2025. She was 104 years old.
Ms. Soskin passed away peacefully at her home in Richmond, California. Her life spanned over a century of profound social change, much of which she documented and shared with thousands of visitors at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park.
A Legacy of Truth-Telling
During World War II, Ms. Soskin worked as a file clerk in a segregated union hall. For decades, her contributions and those of other Black women on the home front were largely omitted from popular history.
It was not until her 80s that she joined the National Park Service, where she became instrumental in ensuring that the stories of African Americans during the war were told accurately.
She famously used her platform to remind the public that the “Rosie the Riveter” era was not a time of unity for everyone, but a period marked by systemic racism and segregation.
Honours and National Recognition
In 2015, Ms. Soskin received national acclaim when she participated in the National Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at the White House, where she was introduced by then-President Barack Obama.
Her impact on education and history was further solidified in 2021, when a middle school in El Sobrante, California, was renamed the Betty Reid Soskin Middle School in her honour. She remained active in her role well past her 100th birthday, only retiring in 2022.
“She shared the story of the home front from a perspective that had been silenced for too long,” noted a historical advocate. “Her voice was a bridge between the past and the present.”
A Century of Activism
Beyond her work with the National Park Service, Soskin was a business owner, a songwriter, and a prominent activist in the civil rights movement.
Her memoir, Sign My Name to Freedom, serves as a testament to her lifelong commitment to social justice and the preservation of Black history.
Her death marks the end of an era for the National Park Service, which heralded her as a “national treasure.”
Tributes have poured in from across the globe, celebrating a woman who proved that it is never too late to reclaim one’s history and change the national narrative.
