Dorothy Height

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Dorothy Height (2008)

Dorothy Irene Height (born March 24, 1912 in Richmond , Virginia , † April 20, 2010 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician , civil rights activist and social worker .

Family and education

Height was born to James Edward Height, a building contractor , and Fannie (Burroughs) Height, a nurse . Height grew up in Rankin , Pennsylvania , a steel workers town in the suburbs of Pittsburgh . In 1929, she was admitted to study at Barnard College of Columbia University , but could not begin studies because the university in each academic year each took only two black students and those places already other candidates had been allocated. Instead studied Height at the New York University , where she received her bachelor's degree in 1932 and 1933, a Master's Degree in Developmental Psychology ( Educational Psychology acquired).

Career

Height began her career as a social worker and caregiver with the New York City Welfare Department. In 1933 she became director of the United Christian Youth Movement of North America. It was during this time that her enduring professional struggle for African American rights in the United States began . She fought against black lynching and advocated desegregation in the US armed forces . She made nationwide trips calling on representatives of the local government units to allow interracial neighborhoods. Height was one of the first civil rights activists to oppose racial segregation at a time when racial segregation and discrimination were the order of the day and there was strong resistance to the integration of blacks. In 1935 Height got involved in ending the race riots, the so-called Harlem Riots , in the New York borough of Harlem . In 1937 - Height was the assistant director of the Young Women's Christian Association in Harlem at the time - she and Mary McLeod Bethune , the founder and president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), were entrusted by Eleanor Roosevelt to organize a youth conference. Height then became a member of the NCNW and supported McLeod Bethune in her fight for women's rights , in particular for equal pay and the right of women to school and education. Later, from 1957 to 1998, Height herself headed the National Council of Negro Women as President.

At the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, Height organized the legendary Mississippi Wednesdays , when American women of different skin colors , races, and religions from North America met with like-minded women from the South in Mississippi to engage in a collaborative dialogue for repeal racial barriers, advocate for social justice, advocacy for women and the establishment of freedom schools . In 1963, she was the only woman to be given a seat in the speaker's gallery when Martin Luther King delivered his famous speech I Have a Dream . Although women were not designated as speakers at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom protest , their placement in the stands was symbolic, as Height and the women within the civil rights movement often initiated events and were the nucleus of the protest.

From 1944 to 1977 Height worked nationally in various leadership positions with the Young Women's Christian Association. From 1952 to 1955 she was a member of the US Department of Defense Advisory Committee on Women. From 1958 to 1968 she was a member of the New York State Welfare Board. In 1965, Height founded the Center for Racial Justice ; from 1965 to 1977 she was its president. In 1970, Height founded the Women's Center for Education and Career Advancement in New York City, an organization that helps women find entry-level jobs.

Height was politically active well into old age. In October 1997 she took part in the Million Woman March in Philadelphia . In 2008 she spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Denver . On January 20, 2009, she was one of the guests of honor at the inauguration of US President Barack Obama . In September 2009, as she did every year, she attended the National Black Family Reunion, which took place on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Height died of old age at Howard University Hospital in Washington DC . US President Obama recognized Height as "a civil rights leader and heroine of many Americans." The funeral ceremony took place on April 29, 2010 at Washington National Cathedral . On that day, US President Barack Obama had all flags raised to half-mast . He attended Heights funeral with his wife, Michelle Obama .

Awards

Height received the highest awards and medals of the government of the United States of America for her political, societal and social work : In 1989 she received the Four Freedoms Award in the category Freedom from Need and in 1993 the Presidential Citizens Medal , the second highest American civil medal . In 1993 she was also inducted into the American National Women's Hall of Fame . In 1994 she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the highest American citizen award, from US President Bill Clinton . In 2003 she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by US President George W. Bush , which she officially accepted in 2004. In 1980 she also received the Barnard Medal of Distinction , the highest award from Barnard College that had once denied her admission to the university. In 2001 she received the Chairman's Medal of the Heinz Awards .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Civil Rights Legend Dorothy Height Dies at 98 ABC News obituary of April 20, 2010
  2. ↑ Dorothy Height, 'godmother' of civil rights, dies at 98 obituary on CNN News, April 21, 2010
  3. ↑ Dorothy Height dies at 98; key figure in the civil rights movement Obituary in: Los Angeles Times, April 20, 2010
  4. ↑ Civil rights 'godmother' Dorothy Height this obituary in USA Today April 20, 2010
  5. ↑ Civil Rights Activist Dorothy Height Dies obituary on National Public Radio of April 20, 2010
  6. ↑ Dorothy Height at 96 is all fired up in Denver Video on CNN September 15, 2008
  7. ^ Civil Rights Icon Dorothy Height Dies at 98 obituary on NBC Washington Radio April 21, 2010
  8. ↑ Presidential Proclamation - Death of Dorothy Height ( Memento of the original from April 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Official White House announcement  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.whitehouse.gov
  9. ↑ US President Obama mourns a civil rights activist ( memento of the original from September 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in: Rheinische Post from April 30, 2010  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / nachrichten.rp-online.de
  10. ^ Death of the former leader of the US civil rights movement Dorothy Height's obituary in Sunday newspaper on April 20, 2010

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Height, Dorothy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Height, Dorothy Irene (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American civil rights activist and politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 24, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Richmond , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH April 20, 2010
Place of death Washington, DC