Dorothy Height
Dorothy Irene Height (March 24, 1912 – April 20, 2010)[1] was an American administrator, educator, and social activist. She was the president of the National Council of Negro Women for forty years, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.
Height was born in Richmond, Virginia. At a very early age, she moved with her family to Rankin, Pennsylvania, a steel town in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. Height was admitted to Barnard College in 1929, but upon arrival, she was denied entrance because the school had an unwritten policy of admitting only two black students per year.[2] She pursued studies instead at New York University, earning a degree in 1932, and a master's degree in educational psychology the following year.[3] Height pursued further postgraduate work at Columbia University and the New York School of Social Work (the predecessor of the Columbia University School of Social Work).[4]
[edit] Career
Height started working as a caseworker with the New York City Welfare Department and, at the age of twenty-five, she began a career as a civil rights activist when she joined the National Council of Negro Women. She fought for equal rights for both African Americans and women, and in 1944 she joined the national staff of the YWCA. She also served as National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority from 1946 to 1957.[5] She remained active with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority throughout her life. While there she developed leadership training programs and interracial and ecumenical education programs.[5]
In 1957, Height was named president of the National Council of Negro Women, a position she held until 1997. During the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Height organized "Wednesdays in Mississippi",[6] which brought together black and white women from the North and South to create a dialogue of understanding.
American leaders regularly took her counsel, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and
Height was born in Richmond, Virginia. At a very early age, she moved with her family to Rankin, Pennsylvania, a steel town in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. Height was admitted to Barnard College in 1929, but upon arrival, she was denied entrance because the school had an unwritten policy of admitting only two black students per year.[2] She pursued studies instead at New York University, earning a degree in 1932, and a master's degree in educational psychology the following year.[3] Height pursued further postgraduate work at Columbia University and the New York School of Social Work (the predecessor of the Columbia University School of Social Work).[4]
[edit] Career
Height started working as a caseworker with the New York City Welfare Department and, at the age of twenty-five, she began a career as a civil rights activist when she joined the National Council of Negro Women. She fought for equal rights for both African Americans and women, and in 1944 she joined the national staff of the YWCA. She also served as National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority from 1946 to 1957.[5] She remained active with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority throughout her life. While there she developed leadership training programs and interracial and ecumenical education programs.[5]
In 1957, Height was named president of the National Council of Negro Women, a position she held until 1997. During the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Height organized "Wednesdays in Mississippi",[6] which brought together black and white women from the North and South to create a dialogue of understanding.
American leaders regularly took her counsel, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and
References: 1. ^ a b c d e Iovino, Jim (2010-04-20). "Civil Rights Icon Dorothy Height Dies at 98". NBC Universal. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/Civil-Rights-Icon-Dorothy-Height-Dies-at-98-91581204.html. Retrieved 2010-04-20. 2. ^ a b "Civil Rights Pioneer Honor 75 years after rejection Barnard College recognizes woman the school once barred because of admission limit for blacks". Newsday. 2004-06-04. p. A22. 3. ^ "Dorothy Height was educator and activist organizer". Post-Tribune. 2003-02-16. p. A2. 5. ^ a b Height, Dorothy (2003). Open Wide the Freedom Gates: A Memoir. New York: PublicAffairs Press. ISBN 978-1-58648-286-2. 6. ^ Evans, Ben (2010-04-20). "Dorothy Height, civil rights activist, dies at 98". Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g1wclP0PXt3NaBWLcwbFUjRs9bawD9F73F081. Retrieved 2010-04-20. 7. ^ Kathryn Cullen-DuPont (1 August 2000). Encyclopedia of women 's history in America. Info base Publishing. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-8160-4100-8. http://books.google.com/books?id=oIro7MtiFuYC. Retrieved 4 February 2012. * Flag Half-Staff Day Order by President Barack Obama * Dorothy Height (1912–2010): Civil Rights Leader Remembered for Lifelong Activism- video report by Democracy Now! * Dorothy I. Height, Unsung Heroine * Booknotes interview with Height on Open Wide the Freedom Gates: A Memoir, August 3, 2003. * Tracey A. Fitzgerald, The National Council of Negro Women and the Feminist Movement, 1935–1975, Georgetown University Press, 1985. * Judith Weisenfeld, "Dorothy Height", Black Women in America: Profiles, MacMillan Library Reference USA, New York, 1999, pp. 128–130.