10 Reasons Dorothy Height Is My She-Ro

1. Dorothy Irene Height was born on March 24, 1912 in Richmond, Virginia and was raised in Rankin, Pennsylvania. Height was admitted to Barnard College in 1929, but was denied entrance because the school had an unwritten policy of admitting only two black students. Instead, she attended at New York University. Height earned a bachelor’s degree in 1932 and a master’s degree in educational psychology in 1933.



2. Height started working as a caseworker with the New York City Welfare Department and, and in 1944 she joined the national staff of the YWCA.



3. When she was 25 she began a career as a civil rights activist when she joined the National Council of Negro Women. She fought for equal rights for both African Americans and women. In 1957, when she was 45, Height was named president of the National Council of Negro Women, a position she held until 1997. During the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Height organized “Wednesdays in Mississippi”, which brought together black and white women from the North and South to create a dialogue of understanding.



4. She also served as National President of Delta Sigma Theta, Sorority Incorporated from 1946-1957. While there she developed leadership training programs and interracial and ecumenical education programs. Height remained active with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority thoughtout her life.


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