News Release

NPS Hosts Program: Answering the Shipyard Call

Date: October 31, 2016
Contact: Elizabeth Tucker, 510-232-5050 x6624

(Richmond, CA) – On Saturday, November 4th at 11:00am, Tina Williams, local author and human resources executive in the high tech industry, will read excerpts and discuss the research she did for her three fictional books inspired by her mother who moved with a young family from Chicago to take a job as a welder in the Richmond Shipyards during the war. In this presentation, Williams will highlight the last book in the series, “Perfect Pitch” which focuses on a local shop owner, Mr. Gregory, who from his Sacramento Street shop, witnesses the aftermath of WWII and the economic downturn which also brought new opportunities and sweeping social changes.

The three-book Julia Street Series, which includes, “Sara’s Song”, “Dance or Get Out”, and “Perfect Pitch”, are all set in the real-life Julia Street and the surrounding neighborhood in Berkeley, California which was filled with African American working-class families who owned their own homes and the surrounding businesses.  The books pay homage to the people who were important in William’s family folklore and helped shape her family culture.  

Williams is one of six children – three boys and three girls, and their home in South Berkeley was the gathering place for the neighborhood. She recalls that her mother’s house was always filled with music, especially Jazz and R&B. Williams says that the books “capture an era when two Berkeley’s, a Black one and a White one, existed parallel to each other, rarely intersecting on the corners of openness and acceptance”.

Space is limited and reservations are required for this program. Please 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 Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center is open seven days a week from 10 AM to 5 PM and is located at 1414 Harbour Way South, suite 3000, Richmond, CA 94804. 

For more information and directions to the Visitor Education Center, please call [phone] x0 or visit to http://www.nps.gov/rori/planyourvisit/directions.htm. Admission to the Visitor Center and programs is free. 

If you would like to receive information about upcoming park events, visit www.rosietheriveter.org and sign up for the email newsletter. The Rosie the Riveter Trust is the nonprofit association building a community of support for this national park.