“Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It's important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It's the way in which we ourselves grow and develop.” - Dorothy Height

Those are the words of the late Dorothy Irene Height, the “godmother” of the civil rights movement, born March 24th, 1912 in Richmond Virginia to James and Fannie Height. Throughout her life, she dedicated her time to African American and Women’s Rights. Her collegiate education was at New York University where she earned the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Educational Psychology. Her civil rights work began in 1933 when she became a leader of the United Christian Youth Movement of North America. As an avid figure for African-American Civil Rights, she proudly stood alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the delivery of his reputable “I Have a Dream” speech on racial equality.

Her most notable positions by far were her roles of leadership in the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Her dedication to the NCNW started in 1937 when she was serving as the Assistant Executive Director of the Harlem YWCA. It was here that the honorable Mary McLeod Bethune invited her to join in the efforts of the NCNW against the racial and sex based discrimination of women. In 1957, Ms. Height became NCNW’s fourth National President, a position she held for many years.
Ms. Height’s involvement with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority started late in the 1930’s with her ascendency to the presidency in 1947 and continuing through 1956.

One of Dr. Height’s milestone achievements came in 1986 with the creation of the Black Family Reunion Celebration. Developed to celebrate the strengths and traditional values of the African American family this event serves as a rallying point for government agencies, private and public sector institutions, corporations, community-based organizations and families of all ethnicities to work together on solutions to issues affecting families.

Her many awards and accomplishments include the NAACP Spingarn Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal, The Franklin Roosevelt Freedom Medal, and induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. We will continue to look to her triumphs as inspiration for our own endeavors.

We are pleased to present our 2010 Community Leadership Award, posthumously, to Dr. Dorothy Irene Height.