Memory and attention
Dorothy Irene Height was born March 24, 1912 in Richmond, Virginia to Fannie Burroughs and James Height. Both of Height's parents had been widowed twice before and each brought children to the marriage. Fannie Burroughs and James Height had two children together, Dorothy and her sister Anthanette. In 1916 the family moved north to Rankin, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh) where Height attended public schools. Height's mother was active in the Pennsylvania Federation of Colored Women's Clubs and regularly took Dorothy along to meetings where she early established her "place in the sisterhood."
Height's long association with the YWCA began in a Girl Reserve Club in Rankin organized under the auspices of the Pittsburgh YWCA. An enthusiastic participant, who was soon elected President of the Club, Height was appalled to learn that her race barred her from swimming in the pool at the central YWCA branch. "I was only twelve years old. I had never heard of 'social action,' nor seen anyone engaged in it, but I barely took a breath before saying that I would like to see the executive director," Height related in her 2003 memoir. Though her arguments could not bring about a change in policy in 1920s Pittsburgh, Height later dedicated much of her professionl energy to bringing profound change to the YWCA.
In need of money to attend college, Height entered an oratorical contest sponsored by the IBPO Elks. Her speech on the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution won her a full four-year scholarship. Turned down for admission to Barnard because the college's quota of two African-American students per year was already filled, Height instead went to New York University where she earned a B.S. in the School of Education in 1932 and an M.A. in psychology in 1934.
From 1934-37, Height worked in the New York City Department of Welfare, an experience she credited with teaching her the skills to deal with conflict without intensifying it. From there
Height's long association with the YWCA began in a Girl Reserve Club in Rankin organized under the auspices of the Pittsburgh YWCA. An enthusiastic participant, who was soon elected President of the Club, Height was appalled to learn that her race barred her from swimming in the pool at the central YWCA branch. "I was only twelve years old. I had never heard of 'social action,' nor seen anyone engaged in it, but I barely took a breath before saying that I would like to see the executive director," Height related in her 2003 memoir. Though her arguments could not bring about a change in policy in 1920s Pittsburgh, Height later dedicated much of her professionl energy to bringing profound change to the YWCA.
In need of money to attend college, Height entered an oratorical contest sponsored by the IBPO Elks. Her speech on the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution won her a full four-year scholarship. Turned down for admission to Barnard because the college's quota of two African-American students per year was already filled, Height instead went to New York University where she earned a B.S. in the School of Education in 1932 and an M.A. in psychology in 1934.
From 1934-37, Height worked in the New York City Department of Welfare, an experience she credited with teaching her the skills to deal with conflict without intensifying it. From there