For nearly half a century, Dorothy Irene Height has been a vocal champion and leader in the Civil Rights movement. As the only female member among the major leaders of the Civil Rights Movement—along with Martin Luther King, Whitney H. Young, A. Philip Randolph, James Farmer, Roy Wilkins and John Lewis—Height fought for equality and human rights for all people. Among her numerous accomplishments: Height was named to address issues of duress during the aftermath of the Harlem riot of 1935; appointed leader of the United Christian Youth Movement of North America in the New Deal era (1933); was on the staff of the National Board of the YWCA of the USA (1944 - 1977); elected president of the National Council of Negro Women (1957-1998); and received the NAACP Spingarn Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Bill Clinton, and the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian and most distinguished award presented by the U.S. Congress. She was as well known for her extensive collection of hats, as well as for her indomitable spirit. (Image source: New York University) (Click here to view Women of Power Legacy Award Dorothy Height Tribute video.)
For nearly half a century, Dorothy Irene Height has been a vocal champion and leader in the Civil Rights movement. As the only female member among the major leaders of the Civil Rights Movement—along with Martin Luther King, Whitney H. Young, A. Philip Randolph, James Farmer, Roy Wilkins and John Lewis—Height fought for equality and human rights for all people. Among her numerous accomplishments: Height was named to address issues of duress during the aftermath of the Harlem riot of 1935; appointed leader of the United Christian Youth Movement of North America in the New Deal era (1933); was on the staff of the National Board of the YWCA of the USA (1944 - 1977); elected president of the National Council of Negro Women (1957-1998); and received the NAACP Spingarn Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Bill Clinton, and the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian and most distinguished award presented by the U.S. Congress. She was as well known for her extensive collection of hats, as well as for her indomitable spirit. (Image source: New York University) (Click here to view Women of Power Legacy Award Dorothy Height Tribute video.)more
Height arrived in New York to attend Barnard College at Columbia University in 1929. Unfortunately, the two slots for black women had already been filled, and she was told to wait another year. Instead of waiting, Height, who had been awarded a four-year scholarship, talked to officials at New York University and was accepted even though she’d never formally applied. According to an article written in the New York Amsterdam News, decades later, Barnard apologized to Height for not allowing her to enroll. Over the years she has received at least 36 honorary doctorates from colleges and universities. (Image source: Columbia University)more
“[Harlem] was my community. Yes, when I hear people talk about it, like Harlem, I have to say, it is a community and it was my community. And even with much of the deterioration, there remain some of these elements. For instance, when I was talking about some of the things that endeared the community to me when I was a student—I have to say a student, because all my early period there, I came as a college student, so I say, as a student. But the library on 135th Street was sort of another gathering place for young people. … You can't grow up in a community and feel yourself an intimate part of it without, I suppose, being reluctant to part from it.†"The Reminiscences of Dorothy I. Height," an interview by Polly Cowan in the Black Women Oral History Project (Cambridge, MA: Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Insitute for Advanced Studies, 2 February 1975) Courtesy of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, and the Oral History Collection of Columbia University. (Image Source: Columbia University) more
In this undated photo, Height attends an awards luncheon for Las Amigas Inc., an African American women’s public service organization founded in 1957 by Dora R. Mason and Mary Q. Moore. During her keynote speech on empowerment at a June 2008 convention honoring the organization’s 51st anniversary, Height urged the women, “Don’t hesitate to volunteer. God has a plan for you.†(Image source: Las Amigas)more
President George W. Bush awarded Dorothy I. Height the congressional gold medal in 2004 in honor of a lifetime of work helping people exercise their civil rights. She also received the Citizens Medal Award from President Ronald Reagan in 1989 and the Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton in 1994. The medal is inscribed with her words: "We African American women seldom do just what we want to do, but always do what we have to do. I am grateful to have been in a time and place where I could be a part of what was needed." (Image source: U.S. Mint)more
Recognition for her public service has come from all quarters, including the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP in July 1993 and induction into The National Women’s Hall of Fame in October 1993. In 2001, Height was honored with Heinz Award’s Chairman’s Medal, given to her for her lifetime commitments to human rights and conservation efforts. Here is an excerpt from her acceptance speech: “I'm inspired by a woman born of slave parents, Mary McLeod Bethune, who said, 'Leave no one behind' -- and that was also the spirit of John Heinz. And I'm also ever drawn by the necessity to follow Martin Luther King's admonition, that we all need each other because he said, 'The black man needs the white man to free him of his fear and the white man needs the black man to free him of his guilt.' And we come together in the spirit that this award represents, in this very special dimension that the chairman herself exemplifies and inspires us. It is important that we all work together.â€more
As the only female member of the famed Civil Rights Six, Height was one of a select group of people to attenda meeting with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement in the Roosevelt Room of the White House Jan. 18. (Source: White House) more
Dorothy Height and Michelle Obama at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, in 2008. (Source: my.barackobama.com)