Date: 2010-04-20
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Madam Speaker. I to pay tribute to a national treasure and icon who passed early this morning. I am speaking. of course. of the incomparable. irrepressible. and legendary Dorothy Irene Height. For more than half a century. Dorothy Height has played a leading role in the neverending struggle for equality and human rights here at home and around the world. Her life exemplifies her passionate commitment for a just society and her vision of a better world. Dorothy Height was born in Richmond. Virginia March 24. 1912. and educated in the public schools of Rankin. Pennsylvania. a borough of Pittsburgh. where her family moved when she was four. She established herself early as a dedicated student with exceptional oratorical skills. After winning a $1.000 scholarship in a national oratorical contest on the United States Constitution. sponsored by the Fraternal Order of the Elks. and a compiling a distinguished academic record. she enrolled in New York University where she earned both her bachelor and masters degrees in just four years. She continued her postgraduate studies at Columbia University and the New York School of Social Work. In 1933. Dorothy Height joined the United Christian Youth Movement of North America where her leadership qualities earned her the trust and confidence of her peers. It was during this period that she began to emerge as an effective civil rights advocate as she worked to prevent lynching. desegregate the armed forces. reform the criminal justice system. and provide free access to public accommodations. In 1935. Dorothy Height was appointed by New York government officials to deal with the aftermath of the Harlem riot of As Vice President of the United Christian Youth Movement of North America. Dorothy Height was one of only ten American youth delegates to the 1937 World Conference on Life and Work of the Churches held in Oxford. England. Two years later she was selected to represent the YWCA at the World Conference of Christian Youth in Amsterdam. Holland. It was in 1937. while serving as Assistant Executive Director of the Harlem YWCA. that Dorothy Height met Mary McLeod Bethune. founder and president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). Mrs. Bethune was immediately impressed with young Dorothy Heights poise and intelligence and invited her to join the NCNW and assist in the quest for womens rights to full and equal employment. pay and education. In 1938. Dorothy Height was one of ten young Americans invited by Eleanor Roosevelt to come to Hyde Park NY to help plan and prepare for the World Youth Conference to be held at Vassar College. For the next several years. Dorothy Height served in a dual role: as a YWCA staff member and NCNW volunteer. integrating her training as a social worker and her commitment to rise above the limitations of race and sex. She rose quickly through the ranks of the YWCA. from working at the Emma Ransom House in Harlem to the Executive Directorship of the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA in Washington. DC to the YWCA National headquarters office. For thirtythree years. from 1944 through 1977. Dorothy Height served on the staff of the National Board of the YWCA and held several leadership positions in public affairs and leadership training and as Director of the National YWCA School for Professional Workers. In 1965. she was named Director of the Center for Racial Justice. a position she held until her retirement. In 1952. Dorothy Height lived in India. where she worked as a visiting professor in the Delhi School of Social Work at the University of Delhi. which was founded by the YWCAs of India. Burma and Ceylon. She would become renowned for her internationalism and humanitarianism. She traveled around the world expanding the work of the YWCA. She conducted a wellreceived study of the training of womens organizations in five African countries: Liberia. Ghana. Guinea. Sierra Leone. and Nigeria under the Committee of Correspondence. Dorothy Height loved and led her sorority. Delta Sigma Theta. She was elected National President of the sorority in 1947 and served in that capacity until 1956. She led the sorority to a new level of organizational development. initiation eligibility. and social action throughout her term. Her leadership training skills. social work background and knowledge of volunteerism benefited the sorority as it moved into a new era of activism on the national and international scene. In 1957. Dorothy Height was elected the fourth National President of NCNW and served in that position for 40 years. when she became Chair of the Board and President Emerita. In 1960. Dorothy Height was the woman team member leader in the United Civil Rights Leadership along with Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.. Whitney H. Young. A. Philip Randolph. James Farmer. Roy Wilkins and John Lewis. In 1961. while Dorothy Height was participating in major Civil Rights leadership. she led NCNW to deal with unmet needs among women and their families to combat hunger. develop cooperative pig banks. provided families with community freezers and showers. In 1964. after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Dorothy Height with Polly Cowan. an NCNW Board Member. organized teams of women of different races and faith as "Wednesdays in Mississippi" to assist in the freedom schools and open communication between women of difference races. The workshops which followed stressed the need for decent housing which became the basis for NCNW in partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to develop Turnkey III Home Ownership for low income families in Gulfport. Mississippi. In 1970. Dorothy Height directed the series of activities culminating in the YWCA Convention adopting as its "One Imperative" to the elimination of racism. That same year she also established the Womens Center for Education and Career Advancement in New York City to prepare women for entry level jobs. This experience led her in 1975 to collaborate with Pace College to establish a course of study leading to the Associate Degree for Professional Studies (AAPS). In 1975. Dorothy Height participated in the Tribunal at the International Womens Year Conference of the United Nations in Mexico City. As a result of this experience. NCNW was awarded a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to hold a conference within the conference for women from the United States. African countries. South America. Mexico and the Caribbean. This was followed with a site visit with 50 of the women to visit with rural women in Mississippi. Under the auspices of the USAID. Dorothy Height lectured in South Africa after addressing the National Convention of the Black Womens Federation of South Africa near Johannesburg (1977). Since 1986. she has worked tirelessly to strengthen the Black family. Madam Speaker. under the leadership of Dorothy Height: NCNW achieved taxexempt status in 1966. NCNW dedicated the statue of Mary McLeod Bethune in Lincoln Park. Washington D.C. in 1974. the first woman to be so honored on public land in the Nations Capital. Developed model national and communitybased programs ranging from teenage parenting to pig "banks"-which addressed hunger in rural areas. Established the Bethune Museum and Archives for Black Women. the first institution devoted to black womens history. Established the Bethune Council House as a national historic site. Transformed NCNW into an issueoriented political organization. sponsoring "Wednesdays in Mississippi" when interracial groups of women would help out at Freedom Schools. organizing voter registration drives in the South. and fostering communications between black and white women. Established the Black Family Reunion Celebration in 1986 to reinforce the historic strengths and traditional values of the Black family. Among the major awards bestowed upon Dorothy Irene Height in gratitude and appreciation for her service to our nation and the world are the following: Presidential Medal of Freedom presented by President Bill Clinton. Congressional Gold Medal presented by President George W. Bush. John F. Kennedy Memorial Award. NAACPSpingarn Medal. Hadassah Myrtle Wreath of Achievement. Ministerial Interfaith Association Award. Ladies Home JournalWoman of the Year. Congressional Black CaucusDecades of Service. President Ronald ReaganCitizens Medal. Franklin RooseveltFreedom Medal Essence Award. and The Camille Cosby World of Children Award. Dorothy Height was also elected to the National Womens Hall of Fame and is the recipient of thirtysix honorary degrees from colleges and universities as diverse as: Tuskegee University. Harvard University. Spelman College. Princeton University. Bennett College. Pace University. Lincoln University. Columbia University. Howard University. New York University. Morehouse College. and Meharry Medical College. Madam Speaker. Dorothy Height has witnessed or participated in virtually every major movement for social and political change in the last century. For nearly 75 years. Dorothy Height has fought for the equality and human rights of all people. She was the only female member of the "Big 6" civil rights leaders (Whitney Young. Jr.. A. Philip Randolph. Martin Luther King. Jr.. James Farmer. and Roy Wilkins). Her vision and dedication made NCNW the premier organization in advocating for the health. education and economic empowerment for all women of African descent around the world. Thank you. Dorothy Height. for your service to our nation. You have made America a better place for all persons of all races. religions. nd backgrounds. You have mentored hundreds. been a role model to thousands. and a hero to millions. You are an American original. I am glad to count you as a friend.