I want to be remembered as someone who used herself and anything she could touch to work for justice and freedom…. I want to be remembered as one who tried. ~Dorothy Height

From About.com:

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.

Dorothy Height traveled extensively in her various positions, including to India, where she taught for several months, to Haiti, to England. She served on many commissions and boards connected with women’s and civil rights.

“We are not a problem people; we are a people with problems. We have historic strengths; we have survived because of family.” – Dorothy HeightIn 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. When Dorothy Height retired from the presidency of the NCNW, she remained chair and president emerita.

(Read more of Dorothy’s life and contributions to women’s history here.)

If women rarely make the books our children read in history classes, African-American women appear even less. All women, regardless of color, are just as important to our history and need their stories told. Pass this along and take a moment to thank Ms. Height for her work and the momentum she brought to the civil rights movement and freedom she helped bring to others.

Rest in peace, Dorothy.