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Inflection Point: Why Rosie the Riveter is "Not my icon” - Betty Reid Soskin, National Park Service

Photo courtesy of the Nation Parks/modified from original
Betty Reid Soskin at the Rosie the Riveter/WW II Homefront National Historic Park

For the past decade 96-year-old Betty Reid Soskin has served as the nation’s oldest Park Ranger 

where she gives talks at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park. But the triumphant story of the now ubiquitous feminist icon, Rosie the Riveter, is not Betty’s story. While Rosie was breaking barriers for twentieth century white women in the workforce, Black women like Betty and her slave ancestors had been serving as laborers “outside the home” for centuries. In our live talk at INFORUM at the Commonwealth Club, Betty offers a clear-eyed perspective on the untold stories of the American narrative and the ever-rising spiral our country is making toward equality.

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Lauren Schiller is the host and creator ofInflection Point, a podcast and nationally syndicated public radio show about how women rise up. Launched in 2015, and produced in partnership with KALW and PRX, Inflection Point was one of the first radio shows and podcasts in the country to exclusively feature conversations with women about how they build power and lead change. In 2008, Lauren co-created and co-hosted “The Lady Brain Show”, one of the first ever female-led podcasts. Lauren is an award-winning producer, was the Executive Producer of Audio for Salon Media, where she is a regular contributor, and has been a guest host for “The Conversation” on BBC World Service. Lauren is also a speaker and moderator at live events including INFORUM, The Commonwealth Club, Bay Area Book Festival, JCCSF, and Cal Performances