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Dorothy Irene HeightAfrican American social activist and educator
Date of Birth: 24.03.1912
Country: ![]() |
Content:
- Biography of Dorothy Irene Height
- Education and Early Career
- Leadership and Contributions
- Recognition and Legacy
Biography of Dorothy Irene Height
Dorothy Irene Height was an African American civil rights activist and educator. Born in Richmond, Virginia, she moved with her family to Rankin, Pennsylvania at a young age.

Education and Early Career
In 1929, Height enrolled at Barnard College, but was denied admission due to an unofficial rule that allowed only two African American students per year. Instead, she attended New York University and graduated in 1932. The following year, she earned a master's degree in educational psychology.

After completing her education, Height worked as a social worker in New York City. At the age of twenty-five, she became involved in the fight for civil rights, joining the National Council of Negro Women. She actively fought for equal rights for all women, regardless of their race.

Leadership and Contributions
In 1944, Height joined the YWCA and in 1946, she became the National President of the student sorority Delta Sigma Theta. Throughout her life, she worked closely with the sorority and developed programs to train new leaders and promote interracial and global education projects.

Height served as the President of the National Council of Negro Women from 1957 to 1997. During the 1960s, when the civil rights movement was at its peak, Height organized the "Wednesdays in Mississippi" project, which aimed to bridge the gap between black and white women from the North and South.
She provided consultations to American leaders, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. It was Height who inspired President Dwight D. Eisenhower to desegregate schools and President Lyndon B. Johnson to appoint an African American woman to a government position.
In the mid-1960s, Height wrote a column called "The Female Word" for the African American weekly newspaper, the New York Amsterdam News. She served on several significant committees, including advising the U.S. Secretary of State on African affairs and serving on the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped and the President's Committee on the Status of Women.
In 1974, Height was included in the National Council on the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. This led to the publication of the influential "Belmont Report," which established ethical standards for modern researchers.
Recognition and Legacy
In 2004, Height received recognition from her alma mater, Barnard College, as an honorary alumna, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, which ended racial segregation in schools.
In 2005, a musical titled "If This Hat Could Talk" was released, based on Height's memoir, "Open Wide The Freedom Gates." Height served as the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the largest organization dedicated to fighting for civil rights.
On January 20, 2009, Height was invited to attend the inauguration of President Barack Obama. On March 25, 2010, Height was admitted to Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Her representatives stated that her condition was serious but stable. Height passed away on April 20, 2010, at the age of ninety-eight.