Betty Reid Soskin: 'I Helped Create the Future I'm Privileged to Now Be Living In'
At 97 years old, Glamour 2018 Woman of the Year honoree Betty Reid Soskin is full of stories that feel more relevant than ever. The oldest serving National Park Service ranger has worked in union halls under Jim Crow segregation, established the first black household in a discriminating California suburb, fought for black history to be represented in the park system, and recorded it all in her memoir, Sign My Name to Freedom.
“Democracy has been experiencing these periods of chaos since 1776. They come and go,” she told Glamour in her Women of the Year profile. “And it’s in those periods that democracy is redefined.” When everything seems to be crumbling, we can remold and reset, she believes: “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, I would still be a slave like my great-grandmother.”
And tonight, November 12, at Glamour‘s Women of the Year awards, Soskin shared even more wisdom. Actor Andie MacDowell introduced Soskin. “I have the great privilege of serving on the board of the National Forest Foundation, and I love our national parks,” MacDowell said. “In both you can find some of America’s greatest treasures. One of the standouts is not a tall tree or a grand river, but a woman who encompasses strength and grace we all aspire to: 97-year-old National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Saskin. Betty is posted at the Rosie the Riveter/World War Two Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California, where she reminds audiences that ‘what gets remembered depends on who in the room is doing the remembering.’ So Betty remembers and educates on behalf of generations of women of color and other marginalized communities, sharing forgotten stories that span from Dread Scott to Black Lives Matter.”
“Betty has served in many roles: military administrator, civil rights freedom fighter, California field rep, DNC delegate, record shop owner, songwriter, author, daughter, wife, mother, and ranger,” she continued. “But the greatest part she has played in history—so far—is serving as our American conscience.”
Read Soskin’s speech, below:
Thank you very much. You have no idea what it means to me to be here. Thank you very much Glamour, but thanks to all women who are finally stepping up and making their voices heard bc that voice has been missing throughout my life.
That voice is so needed. I was so elated at this election where women took their places in leadership.
I am so aware that I am living in my final decade, that every single, minute, hour has meaning to me. The truth that Kamala was talking about has been the life force for me. Because I don’t have time. If I don’t get it right, I don’t have time to do it over. That’s true for the nation and also true for us.
I know these periods of chaos have been with us since 1776. The period that I have been most marked by was that of the 60s where I was an activist in the black revolution. Along with millions of others in this country, I helped to create the future I’m privileged to now be living in. You can’t imagine what that’s like. You can’t imagine.
Thank you Glamour. And thank you all.
Get more inspiring moments from Glamour‘s Women of the Year awards here.
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