Treadway: Researcher to Give Talk at Rosie the Riveter

February 16, 2016

Treadway: Researcher to give talk at Rosie the Riveter

By Chris [email protected] POSTED: 02/16/2016 10:43:58 AM PST0 COMMENTS| UPDATED: A DAY AGO

An author who conducted research with black female migrants who worked in the Kaiser Shipyards in Rich- mond during World War II will discuss her work at a free program at 11 a.m. Feb. 20 at the Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center, 1414 Harbour Way South in Richmond.

Marta Effinger-Crichlow, chair and associate professor in the African American Studies Department at New York City College of Technology-CUNY, is the author of “Staging Migrations toward an American West, from Ida B. Wells to Rhodessa Jones.”

Effinger-Crichlow “is an interdisciplinary scholar and artist drawn to stories about black women and girls as well as migration and place,” notes the event announcement.

Her talk will include an overview of her book, “which examines how black women’s theatrical and everyday performances of migration expose the complexities of their struggles for sociopolitical emancipation. While migration is often viewed as merely a physical process, Effinger-Crichlow expands the concept to include a series of symbolic internal journeys within confined and unconfined spaces.”

Space for the talk is limited and reservations are required.

To reserve a seat call 510-232-5050 x0 and leave a message with your name and phone number, and specify the date of the program you would like to attend.

The visitor center, part of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Soskin honored: Betty Reid Soskin of Richmond was last week named the Unsung Hero Black History Month honoree from Assembly District 15 by Assemblyman Tony Thurmond.

Soskin, 94, is the oldest full-time ranger for the National Park Service, working at the Rosie the Riveter park.

Her family moved from New Orleans to Oakland and Betty graduated from Castlemont High School. During World War II she worked in the office of a segregated shipyard union in Richmond.

“In 1945, she and her young husband, Mel Reid, founded a still-existing small Berkeley music store -- Reid’s Records,” notes the announcement from Thurmond. She later worked on the staff of a Berkeley council member and then as a West Contra Costa field representative for Assemblywoman Dion Aroner and State Sen. Loni Hancock.

This past December she introduced President Barack Obama at the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C.

“I’m honored to know Ms. Soskin and share her commitment to social justice,” Thurmond said in a statement. “As a great-granddaughter of a slave, she sees her job as a park ranger as more than preservation, but as an ad- vocate sending a message to all young girls of color that they too can choose this profession as a career.”

COMMUNITY NOTES: Sculptor and photographer Karina Furhman (karina-sculpture.com), who lives and works in San Pablo, had a portrait she created selected for the Black Lives Matter Art Exhibition at Massachu- setts College of Liberal Arts Gallery 51, where it is to be on display through the end of the month.

The documentary, “A Zest for Life: Afro-Peruvian Rhythms” (revised 2015), by Eve A. Ma and Palomino Pro- ductions of El Cerrito, was one of only three films nominated for the Best Documentary award this month in the San Diego Black Film Festival. “We are also happy to report that the trailer for Ma’s documentary in production, ‘Flamenco: the Land Is Still Fertile (Flamenco: la tierra está viva),’ codirected by Spanish Gypsy flamenco singer Antonio de la Malena, has been accepted into a festival in Germany, the Finow Film and Script Festival,” her production company an- nounced.

The trailers for the documentaries can be viewed online at AZestforLifeMovie.com and FlamencotheLandMov- ie.com.

The annual benefit pancake breakfast at the Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave., is 9 a.m. to noon Feb. 20. Breakfast will be prepared by Albany firefighters and proceeds will benefit programs at the center. Albany and El Cerrito are teaming for a cleanup day at Cerrito Creek near El Cerrito Plaza from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 21. Volunteers of all ages are welcome at the event sponsored by El Cerrito Green Teams and Friends of Albany Parks on the open stretch of creek at the south side of the shopping center that serves as the border between the two cities.

Meet near Trader Joe’s and “wear closed-toed shoes with traction and clothes that can get dirty.”

Tools and gloves will be provided.

Details: 510-215-4350, [email protected]

Albany is hosting a Red Cross blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 8 at the Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave. Drop in on the day of the event to make a lifesaving donation, or make advance reservations by visiting www.redcrossblood.org, clicking the “Sponsor Code” link and entering “Albany.” Contact Chris Treadway at 510-262-2784 or [email protected]. Follow him at Twitter.com/ christreadway. Stay up-to-date on West Contra Costa news at IBABuzz.com/westcounty.