Well over 1000 people gathered on March 1, 2026, at the Calvin Simmons Theater at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts in Oakland for the Celebration of Life of Betty Reid Soskin (1921–2025), who, until her retirement in March 2022 at age 100, was the nation’s oldest serving National Park Service (NPS) ranger. She previously was the manager of Reid’s Records in Berkeley, a singer and performer, a field representative for California State Assemblymembers Dion Aroner and Loni Hancock, and was an ardent community activist.
One of her four children, Di’ara Melite Reid, is a transgender activist, and Soskin was the honored guest of the San Francisco Bay Times Pride Parade contingent in 2022. She was believed to have been the oldest dignitary ever to have been presented in the San Francisco Pride Parade. Another of her children, Bob Reid, sang and spoke tributes at the Celebration of Life, which was also attended by Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee as well as multiple NPS leaders and rangers. Special thanks to Elizabeth Tucker of the NPS for her help with this coverage in the Bay Times.
The event was livestreamed and archived by Sign My Name to Freedom: The Lost Music of Betty Reid Soskin, which is a featured documentary about Soskin’s life that is in post-production. The archived livestream may be viewed at: https://bit.ly/40kyFgz
For information about the documentary, visit: https://bit.ly/4b9sCQT
In Memoriam – Oakland Inclusivity
Published on March 12, 2026
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