Celebrating
Dr. Dorothy Irene Height
“Godmother of the Civil Rights movement”
Dr. Dorothy Height was born on March 24, 1912, in Richmond, VA. When she was five, her family moved to Rankin, PA where she attended racially integrated schools. Her long association with the YWCA began when she joined the Girl Reserve Club, organized by the Pittsburgh YWCA. Soon elected President, Height was appalled to learn that she was barred from swimming in the pool. Thus began her lifelong dedication to Women’s and Civil Rights. Height was instrumental in bringing profound racial change to the YWCA. In 1946 they adopted an Interracial Charter which pledged to work for integration and fight against racial injustice. In 1965 she became the first director of the Office of Racial Justice whose mission was to monitor progress, hire and retain African American leadership in volunteers and staff, and contribute to the Civil Rights Movement. In 1970 she pushed the organization to adopt One Imperative whose mission was to dedicate their efforts to eliminate racism. In 1977 Dorothy Height was elected to a lifetime appointment as a national honorary member of the YWCA Board.
Using her positions in the YWCA and the National Council of Negro Women, Dorothy was a critical part of the leadership of the Civil Rights Movement. She organized Wednesdays in Mississippi which brought women of differing racial and religious experiences to work against segregation. She was one of the organizers for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. She worked closely with “the Big Six” organizers of the Civil Rights Movement (including the Rev Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis) but was frequently ignored because of sexist attitudes. Nevertheless, she was a much-needed mediator who smoothed over conflicts during the planning process. It was Dorothy Height who helped convince the committee to let Rev. Martin Luther King deliver his “I Have a Dream Speech” at the end of the program.
After a lifetime of service, Dorothy Height died on April 20, 2010. President Obama delivered her eulogy. He called her the “godmother of the Civil Rights movement and a hero to so many Americans”. In her memoir Open Wide the Gates of Freedom she wrote of her work for racial justice. She once said, “I want to be remembered as someone who used herself and anything she touched to work for justice and freedom. I want to be remembered as one who tried.” She accomplished her goal.
Read more about Dr. Height at www.womenshistory.org, or www.civilandhumanrights.org, nps.gov, Listen to this npr morning edition from July, 2003, or watch this Black History Mini Doc on youtube.com.
Thank you, Sylvia Howe, for submitting this Mini-Biography! |
