Biography of Dorothy Height Civil Rights Leader

Dorothy Height (March 24, 1912–April 20, 2010) was a teacher, social service worker, and the four-decade-long president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). She was called the godmother of the womens movement for her work for womens rights, and was one of few women present on the speaking platform during the 1963 March on Washington. Fast Facts: Dorothy Height Known For: Civil rights leader, known as the godmother of the womens movementBorn: March 24, 1912 in Richmond, VirginiaParents: James Edward and Fannie Burroughs HeightDied: April 20, 2010 in Washington, D.C.Education:  New York University, BA Education, 1930; MA Educational Psychology, 1935Published Works: Open Wide the Freedom Gates (2003)Spouse(s): NoneChildren: None Early Life Dorothy Irene Height was born on March 24, 1912, in Richmond, Virginia, the eldest of two children of James Edward Height, a building contractor, and nurse Fannie Burroughs Height. Both her parents had been widowed twice before, and both had children from the earlier marriages who lived with their family. Her one full sister was Anthanette Height Aldridge (1916–2011). The family moved to Pennsylvania, where Dorothy attended integrated schools. In high school, Height was noted for her speaking skills. She even earned a college scholarship after winning a national oratory competition. She also, while in high school, began participating in anti-lynching activism. She was accepted at Barnard College but was then rejected, with the school indicating it had filled its quota for black students.  She attending New York University instead.  Her bachelors degree in 1930 was in education and her masters in 1932 was in educational psychology. Beginning a Career After college, Dorothy Height worked as a teacher in the Brownsville Community Center in Brooklyn, New York. There she was active in the United Christian Youth Movement after its founding in 1935. In 1938, Dorothy Height was one of 10 young people selected to help First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt plan a World Youth Conference. Through Roosevelt she met Mary McLeod Bethune and became involved in the National Council of Negro Women. Also in 1938, Dorothy Height was hired by the Harlem YWCA. She worked for better working conditions for black domestic workers, leading to her election to YWCA national leadership. In her professional service with the YWCA, she was assistant director of the Emma Ransom House in Harlem and was later executive director of the Phillis Wheatley House in Washington, D.C. Dorothy Height became national president of Delta Sigma Theta in 1947, after serving for three years as vice president. National Congress of Negro Women In 1957, Dorothy Heights term as president of Delta Sigma Theta expired. She was then selected as the president of the National Congress of Negro Women, an organization of organizations. Always as a volunteer, she led NCNW through the civil rights years and into self-help assistance programs in the 1970s and 1980s. She built up the organizations credibility and fund-raising capacity such that it was able to attract large grants and therefore undertake major projects. She also helped establish a national headquarters building for NCNW. She was also able to influence the YWCA to be involved in civil rights beginning in the 1960s and worked within the YWCA to desegregate all levels of the organization. Height was one of the few women to participate at the highest levels of the civil rights movement, with such others as A. Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King, jr., and Whitney Young. At the 1963 March on Washington, she was on the platform when King delivered his I Have a Dream speech. Death Dorothy Height died on April 20, 2010, in Washington, D.C. She neither married nor had children. Her papers are archived at Smith College and the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women. Legacy Dorothy Height traveled extensively in her various positions, including to India, where she taught for several months, Haiti, and England. She served on many commissions and boards connected with womens and civil rights. She once said: We are not a problem people; we are a people with problems. We have historic strengths; we have survived because of family. In 1986, Dorothy Height became convinced that negative images of black family life was a significant problem. She founded the annual Black Family Reunion, an annual national festival, as a result. In 1994, President Bill Clinton presented Height with the Medal of Freedom. When Height retired from the presidency of the NCNW, she remained chair and president emerita. She wrote her memoirs, Open the Freedom Gates, in 2003. Over her lifetime, Height was given many awards, including three dozen honorary doctorates. In 2004, 75 years after rescinding its acceptance, Barnard College awarded her a B.A. Sources Fox, Margalit. Dorothy Height, Largely Unsung Giant of the Civil Rights Era, Dies at 98. The New York Times, April 20, 2010.  Dorothy Height, godmother of civil rights, dies at 98. CNN, April 21, 2010.  Height, Dorothy. Open Wide the Freedom Gates: A Memoir. New York: Public Affairs, 2003.NYU Steinhardt and U.S. Postal Service Celebrate Civil Rights Activist Dorothy Height. NYU Steinhardt News, February 2, 2017.  Rodgers, Ann. Obituary: Dorothy Height / Godmother of the civil rights movement. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 21, 2010.