Largely unheralded civil rights activist and “seventh” member of the Big Six in the movement gets honored by Google on her birthday today
By Curt Cramer
Looking at your Google homepage today you might notice the unfamiliar persona in the doodle, which is that of Dorothy Irene Height, in celebration of her birthday today.
Though largely under ranked and relatively unknown by many, Dorothy Height’s achievements as an educator, activist, and figurehead in the American Civil Rights Movement are as important as those by the giants we know in the movement to date. By 1963 as one of the influential organizers of the March on Washington, standing on the steps next to Martin Luther King as he delivered the famous “I Have A Dream” speech, she had already accomplished so much.
Her first path to changing American social spheres was also her first roadblock. After applying for, and being accepted to Barnard College in New York, she was turned away as the start of the semester neared, being told they had already reached their quota of black students – Two. Undeterred, she promptly went to NYU, which immediately accepted her, and she went on to earn two degrees, a BA in education, and a MD in Psychology.
After some time as a social worker, she joined the staff of the Harlem YWCA in the late 30s, where she met both First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) founder Mary McLeod Bethune, changing her life, since she soon found herself working for the NCNW, and being mentored by Bethune. She eventually integrated all of the YWCAs, and established its Center for Racial Justice in 1965, running it until 1977. In 1957, she found herself at the helm of the NCNW, finally establishing her role as one of the major players in civil rights. American leaders regularly took her counsel on issues through these times, such as President Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom she helped encourage to desegregate schools, and President Lyndon B. Johnson, with whom she advised to appoint African-American women to government positions.
Height continued to run the NCNW until the late 90s, but even up until that time she was still very active in her other endeavors, and remained on the board of directors of the NCNW until her death. In 1986, she established the first Black Family Reunion, celebrating African-American traditions and Values, still being held to this day. In 1994, she was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bill Clinton, and in 2004 she was given the Congressional Gold Medal by George Bush. She befriended Barack Obama, and attended his inauguration as an honored guest.
Height passed away in 2010, at the age of 98. She lived each and every one of those years to the fullest, tirelessly educating and being an activist for social change. Dignitaries of all backgrounds attended her funeral at the Washington National Cathedral, and though her work was unheralded, she will be forever thanked.
-Curt Cramer (@CurtisRemarc)
