| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
xvii, 205 pages, 16 unnumbered leaves of plates : color illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Note |
Includes index. |
| Contents |
Prologue -- Creole/Black Cajun New Orleans -- Growing up in pre-war Bay Area -- Marriage and the war years -- Into the lion's den -- Breaking down, breaking up -- The movement years -- An emancipated woman -- Richmond and Rosie and Betty the Ranger -- Shining bright at twilight: lessons of a life long lived -- Epilogue. |
| Summary |
"In Betty Reid Soskin’s 96 years of living, she has been a witness to a grand sweep of American history. When she was born in 1921, the lynching of African-Americans was a national epidemic, blackface minstrel shows were the most popular American form of entertainment, white women had only just won the right to vote, and most African-Americans in the Deep South could not vote at all. From her great-grandmother, who had been enslaved until her mid-20s, Betty heard stories of slavery and the times of terror and struggle for black folk that followed. In her lifetime, Betty has watched the nation begin to confront its race and gender biases when forced to come together in the World War II era; seen our differences nearly break us apart again in the upheavals of the civil rights and Black Power eras; and, finally, lived long enough to witness both the election of an African-American president and the re-emergence of a militant, racist far right. Blending together selections from many of Betty’s hundreds of blog entries with interviews, letters, and speeches, Sign My Name to Freedom invites you along on that journey, through the words and thoughts of a national treasure who has never stopped looking at herself, the nation, or the world with fresh eyes"-- Adapted from book jacket. |
| Subject |
Soskin, Betty Reid, 1921-
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Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park (Agency : U.S.) -- Officials and employees -- Biography.
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African American women -- California -- East Bay -- Biography.
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Women political activists -- California -- East Bay -- Biography.
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East Bay (Calif.) -- Politics and government -- 20th century.
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African Americans -- California -- East Bay -- Social conditions -- 20th century.
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College teachers' spouses -- California -- Berkeley -- Biography.
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Creoles -- United States -- Biography.
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San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century.
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East Bay (Calif.) -- Biography.
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BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional.
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BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women.
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HISTORY / African American.
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SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies.
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| Genre/Form |
Autobiographies.
|
| Added Author |
Allen-Taylor, J. Douglas, editor.
|
| Added Title |
Memoir of a pioneering life |
| ISBN |
9781401954215 (hardcover ;) (alk. paper) |
|
1401954219 (hardcover ;) (alk. paper) |
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