Dorothy Height

Hello! My name is Dorothy Height. I was born a long time ago, on March 24th, 1912, in a city called Richmond, Virginia. When I was a little girl, my family moved to a small town in Pennsylvania. I loved to read and learn everything I could! I was a great speaker, and I even won a national contest for my speaking skills. That prize gave me a scholarship for college! I was so excited to go to a special school in New York City called Barnard College, but when I arrived, they told me I couldn't come. They said they already had their two Black students for the year. I was sad, but I didn't give up on my dream of learning.

Instead of going home, I found another wonderful school nearby, New York University. They welcomed me, and I studied very hard. I earned my master's degree in 1933. After I finished school, I became a social worker in New York City. My job was to help families and make sure people were being treated fairly. One day in 1937, I met an amazing woman named Mary McLeod Bethune. She started a group called the National Council of Negro Women, and she invited me to join. Meeting her changed my life and showed me how I could help even more people.

I wanted everyone, no matter the color of their skin, to be treated with kindness and respect. I worked for a group called the YWCA, and in 1946, I helped make sure all of their centers were open and welcoming to everyone. In 1957, I became the president of the National Council of Negro Women, the group my friend Mary had started. I led that group for forty years! I helped organize big events, like the famous March on Washington in 1963, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech. I was one of the main organizers and stood on the stage, though women were not asked to speak that day. I worked my whole life to fight for the rights of African Americans and for women.

I received special awards for my work from American presidents, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. I was always easy to spot in a crowd because I loved wearing beautiful, colorful hats! They were my signature look. I lived a very long and full life and was 98 years old when I passed away in 2010. Today, people remember me as the 'godmother of the civil rights movement' because I spent my life working to make the world a fairer and more equal place for everybody.