By Don Valentine
The Obama White House (obamawhitehouse.archives.gov) chronicled President Obama eulogizing the death of the ‘Godmother of Civil Rights.” President Obama said, “Michelle and I were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Dorothy Height – the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero to so many Americans. Ever since she was denied entrance to college because the incoming class had already met its quota of two African American women, Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality. She led the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, and served as the only woman at the highest level of the Civil Rights Movement – witnessing every march and milestone along the way. And even in the final weeks of her life – a time when anyone else would have enjoyed their well-earned rest – Dr. Height continued her fight to make our nation a more open and inclusive place for people of every race, gender, background and faith. Michelle and I offer our condolences to all those who knew and loved Dr. Height – and all those whose lives she touched.”
Miss Dorothy was born March 24, 1912 in Richmond, Virginia. She was horrified by the country’s vicious lynchings and this disgust led her to become active in anti-lynching campaigns. Her charismatic speaking talent took her to a national oratory competition. She won a scholarship to Barnard College in New York. Just before college started she was informed that the school had reached its two slots reserved for Black women. Undeterred, Miss Dorothy applied to New York University, where she earned a degree in education, and a master’s degree in psychology.
In 1946, she left an historical footprint by the supervising national integration of all the YWCA’s. The following year Miss Dorothy became National President of the “Delta Dynasty,” Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
Her sorority sister, Mary Mcleod Bethuman, and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt came to support her efforts at the YWCA. In 1965, Miss Dorothy became the first director of the YWCA’s Center for Racial Justice.
Biography.com noted, “…. she became one of the leading figures of the civil rights movement. Height worked with Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, John Lewis and James Farmer — sometimes called the “Big Six” of the civil rights movement…” She became the glue that assuaged the dominant male egos in preparation for the 1963 March on Washington. Miss Dorothy said, “Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals.”
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