May the Example of Her Legacy Live On...

Four-decade-long president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW); called "godmother of the women's movement"

In 1957, Dorothy Height's term as president of Delta Sigma Theta expired, and she was selected as the president of the National Congress of Neighborhood Women, an organization of organizations. Always as a volunteer, she led NCNW through the civil rights years and into self-help assistance programs in the 1970s and 1980s. She built up the organization's credibility and fund-raising capacity such that it was able to attract large grants and therefore undertake major projects. She also helped establish a national headquarters building for NCNW.
She was also able to influence the YWCA to be involved in civil rights beginning in the 1960s, and worked within the YWCA to desegregate all levels of the organization.
Height was one of the few women to participate at the highest levels of the civil rights movement, with such others as A. Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King, jr., and Whitney Young. At the 1963 March on Washington, she was on the platform when Dr. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.
In 1986, Dorothy Height became convinced that negative images of black family life was a significant problem, and to address the problem, she founded the annual Black Family Reunion, an annual national festival.
In 1994, President Bill Clinton presented Height with the Medal of Freedom.

Dr. Height's life was too much to put in one blog, however, there are several websites to read about her life and legacy. (www.about.com; www.blackenterprise.com; of course www.google.com)

"Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals."-Dr. Dorothy Height