Height, Dorothy (1912–)
Height, Dorothy (1912–)
American activist. Born Dorothy Irene Height in Richmond, Virginia, Mar 24, 1912; dau. of James Edward (building contractor) and Fannie (Burroughs) Height; New York University, BA, then MA in educational psychology, 1933; attended New York School of Social Work; never married; no children.
Organization official who worked on behalf of civil and women's rights, serving over 3 decades as president of National Council of Negro Women (NCNW); spent most of professional career with Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), where she rose to post of associate director of leadership training services and director of Office for Racial Justice; was also president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (1944–53); became president of NCNW (1957), where she became a driving force in a variety of economic, political, and social issues affecting black women; a major leader during civil-rights movement (1960s), held voter registration drives in South and voter education drives in North; was largely responsible for erection of Bethune Memorial statue, the 1st monument of an African-American placed in a public park in Washington, DC. Received Presidential Medal of Freedom (1994).
See also Women in World History.