The Human Rights Campaign today notes the passing of civil rights leader Dorothy Height, president emerita of the National Council of Negro Women. Height was 98.
For over six decades, Dr. Height fought for civil rights and social justice for all Americans. In the 1960s, she organized "Wednesdays in Mississippi," which brought interracial groups of women to the rural South to bring both supplies and support, and to encourage frank — and rare — conversations about the civil rights movement. She was the only woman seated on the podium when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, and remained a prominent leader of the civil rights movement for the rest of her life.
"We are grateful for Dr. Height's many decades of work for social justice," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "Today, our thoughts and prayers are with her family, her friends, and with countless of Americans who will mourn her passing. We are all beneficiaries of her life's work."
HRC is a member of the executive committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, of which Dr. Height was the Chairperson. HRC was proud to work closely with Dr. Height on issues critical to all Americans.
"Dr. Height taught us to reach out to others, and to get the conversations going," said HRC Deputy Director for Diversity Donna Payne. "That's how you win people's hearts, which is what it takes to make justice happen."
Dr. Height spoke at the 1997 HRC National Dinner in Washington, DC. Video of her remarks is available at www.hrcbackstory.org .
Task Force mourns death of Dorothy Height
WASHINGTON, April 20 — The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force mourns the death of Dr. Dorothy Height, a civil rights pioneer, who died today at the age of 98. Height was a key figure in the struggles for school desegregation, voting rights, employment opportunities and public accommodations in the 1950s and 1960s. She was president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years.
Height lobbied First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on behalf of civil rights causes in the 1940s. In the 1950s, she insisted President Eisenhower move more aggressively on school desegregation issues. Height was among those invited to the White House to witness President Kennedy's signing ceremony of the Equal Pay Act in 1963. In 1994, President Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. In 2004, Height also received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest decoration Congress can bestow.
Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
"Today we deeply mourn the loss of Dorothy Height, who staunchly stood for the civil rights of all people. Dr. Height was a hero to many by devoting her life to those struggling for equality. We are in awe of her crusade for racial justice and gender equality that spanned more than six decades. She was a champion of social justice, a champion of women's rights, a champion of civil rights. Her legacy is profound and everlasting. To have met her was an honor. To speak with her, a joy. And, to have been inspired by her, a gift."
Statement by Darlene Nipper, Deputy Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
"A huge part of Dorothy Height's legacy will be the grace with which she directed her power for the good of all people. As an African-American woman in the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, I am so honored to have met her, witnessed her leadership and benefited from her extraordinary sacrifices."
STATEMENT: Progressives Mourn the Loss of Dr. Dorothy Height
Erica Williams, Deputy Director of Progress 2050, on the Death of Dr. Dorothy Height
Washington, D.C.—"The progressive movement lost a champion today, and the Center for American Progress lost a dear ally in the work for equality and justice. Dr. Dorothy Height, an iconic civil rights leader, was a pioneer for gender and racial equity and was a beacon of light in some of our nation's darkest days. She fought until the very end of her distinguished life to ensure equal opportunity for all Americans and equality for the greater human race.
"Like many who have gone before her, Dr. Height's tireless lifelong passion to make our nation live up to its highest ideals of fairness and equal opportunity paved the way for us all to experience this nation unfettered by the chains of discrimination and oppression.
"This great woman, often the only woman in the circles of elite, male-dominated civil rights leadership, left her fingerprint on many of the greatest victories of the civil rights movement—from antilynching laws, to desegregation of the armed forces, to equal access to public accommodations. It is in her honor that we continue to advance the values for which she stood and today join the millions of Americans in celebrating her life and contributions."
Erica Williams is the Deputy Director of Progress 2050, a project of the Center for American Progress that develops new ideas for an increasingly diverse America. The project seeks to build a progressive agenda that is more inclusive and reflects the rich racial and ethnic makeup of the nation.
