Betty Reid Soskin, a writer and civil rights activist who found fame later in life as the oldest active National Park Service (NPS) ranger, retired last week at the age of 100.
She spent her last day on the job at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California, speaking with the public and visiting with coworkers, according to a statement. The park plans to celebrate her retirement on April 16, reports CBS San Francisco.
As an NPS employee, Soskin tirelessly promoted the stories of African American people and women of color who contributed to the home front effort during World War II. Per the NPS’ website, she briefly worked for the United States Air Force in 1942 but quit after learning that she’d only been hired because her employers mistakenly believed that she white.
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