Richmond’s motto is “the city of pride and purpose.” It’s a theme that resonates back to World War II, into the present, and forward into the future, reverberating across the beer industry and American culture. On June 18, 2022, the first annual Pride and Purpose Beer Festival at East Brother Beer Company, benefiting the Rosie the Riveter Trust, will celebrate Richmond’s civic history; the people, particularly the women, who put in the work; and the drink of the laborer, Lager.
“Especially in these times, when people come together for the common good and take pride in working for something bigger, magical things can happen,” says Lisa Foote, public relations and marketing manager at the Trust. “That’s true of East Brother Beer Company, and certainly of the Rosie the Riveters who could step beyond thinking of themselves. It wasn't your job or my job, it was our job.”
During the war, more than 6 million women joined the workforce for the first time, an essential contribution, taking jobs in factories and shipyards vacated by male servicemembers. Today, the Trust promotes their legacy, providing youth programming and advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. The Trust is the official nonprofit partner of the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond; since national parks cannot raise their own funds, the Trust supports the Park’s programming to connect youth with the outdoors and educate the community about Richmond’s rich contributions to not only the war effort, but the American labor movement.
Many Bay Area residents don’t even realize there’s a national park in their backyard, Foote says, or know the real history of the Richmond Shipyards as the front line of female-driven public service during WWII (East Brother is located in the shipbuilders’ former dormitories). In 1940, Henry Kaiser built his first shipyard, hired scores of women laborers, or “Rosies,” to join the ranks—in the process, revolutionizing the American workplace and social services. To keep in-demand workers happy and support the troops, Kaiser offered high-quality daycare that included meals and educational services, the first of its kind, as well as low-cost health care for workers and their kids; today, we know this as the Kaiser Permanente health care system.
Kaiser, the man, provided a relatively egalitarian workplace, offering jobs to women and Black workers at a time when some employers and even unions initially denied them. The Trust shares these stories through historical records, events, and the testimonies of “Rosies,” or ambassadors, who lived it: Phyllis Gould, who recently passed away, was among the first six women welders in Kaiser’s shipyard who helped establish March 21 as “Rosie the Riveter Day.” Foote hopes the upcoming festival will provide a fun, relaxed way to raise funds for the Trust while connecting locals with their history and community—including more than 25 Bay Area breweries, which will serve 50+ beers and 30+ Lagers at the event.
Early bird admission includes access to a fireside chat with Lincoln Cushing, a Kaiser historian who will share the fascinating legacies of the Shipyards, its workers, and Lager itself. Tickets include unlimited tastings and access to a day of celebratory activities and entertainment, such as food trucks, live music, local vendors, and a chance to meet some real-life Rosie the Riveters. For information and tickets, visit the Trust’s website or the East Brother blog.
