Civil Rights icon Dr. Dorothy Height passed away early Tuesday morning, April 20, at the age of 98. Height died of natural causes, according to a spokesperson from Howard University Hospital.
Height served as the President of the National Council of Negro Women for four decades, stepping down from the position in 1997. She was considered one of the founding members of the Civil Rights movement. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 by President Bill Clinton. In 2004, she was also the recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal.
Height fought for equal rights for both women and blacks, and was active in such causes as securing voting rights, equal employment opportunities and the desegregation of public schools.
Height marched with Dr, Martin Luther King Jr., and spoke out for women’s rights during the Civil Rights struggle. She was instrumental in the fight for equal pay for women and organized numerous programs designed to help women achieve equal rights and independence. During her years as President of the National Council of Negro Women, Height was dedicated to issues that affected women, including child care for working mothers, health and nutrition and providing adequate housing for families in need.Height was born in Richmond, Va. on March 24, 1912 and grew up in Rankin. Pa. She was valedictorian of her high school class and winner of a national oratory contest, which came with a $1,000 scholarship. Height attended New York University where she earned a master’s degree in educational psychology.
She began her career working for the Welfare Department in New York, and subsequently became involved in the civil rights movement after meeting Adam Clayton Powell Sr., the well known former pastor of the Abyssinian Church in Harlem.
Height came to Washington D.C. and worked for the Phyllis Wheatley Branch of the YWCA, and eventually became the Director of the YWCA’s Center for Racial Justice. Height also became the national president of Delta Sigma Theta sorority in 1947 until 1957, when she became president of the National Council of Negro Women.
During her long and distinguished career, Height served on the advisory council of the White House Initiative on historically Black Colleges and Universities as well as the National Council on Aging and was the recipient of 36 honorary degrees.
The 2010 PossibiliTEAS Ladies Tea & Luncheon is dedicated to Dr.Dorothy Height. Because of her life we have answered the Call to Serve and Answer.(excerpt taken from sisters4sisters)
