California State University, East Bay

Betty Reid Soskin is a distinguished civic leader whose contributions have enriched California State University, East Bay, the broader East Bay region, California and the nation. A resident of the East Bay for over 90 years, Ms. Soskin is an outstanding model of civic engagement, a pioneer for social justice and a truth teller of history.

Born in Detroit, Ms. Soskin and her family moved to Oakland, California, when she was six years old. Upon graduating from Castlemont High School in 1942, she accepted a file clerk position working at the Richmond shipyards in a segregated union hall. One of the few Black American file clerks during World War II, Ms. Soskin later observed that her office position was, in her family, akin to attending college given the options available at that time.

In 1945, Ms. Soskin and her husband founded Reid’s Records in Berkeley, a gospel music specialty store that thrived for more than 70 years. It would become California’s oldest record store and one of the longest-lasting Black-owned businesses in the Bay Area. Ms. Soskin would go on to become actively engaged in the civil rights movement and served as a delegate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention.

In 2022, at the age of 101, Ms. Soskin retired from her position as the oldest active U.S. National Park Ranger, stationed at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California. From its inception, Ms. Soskin was deeply involved in the direction and creation of this distinctive urban national park, including bringing to light stories about working in a time of segregation and racism. Her perspective continues to influence the stories the museum tells. In 2020, the park produced the documentary film “No Time to Waste,” about Ms. Soskin’s extraordinary life as a national park ranger and an active witness to history.

In 1995, Ms. Soskin was named Woman of the Year by the California State Legislature and in 2016, she was awarded the Silver Service Medallion by the National WWII Museum in New Orleans in recognition of her work during World War II. She is one of only two women to receive that honor. Invited to attend President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, she carried with her to the ceremony a photo of her great-grandmother, who had been born into slavery.

In recognition of her extraordinary commitment to civic engagement and her lifetime of service to the community, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California State University, East Bay are proud to confer upon Betty Reid Soskin the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.