How Did Dorothy Height Encouraged The Civil Rights Movement

Dorothy Height once said, “Greatness is not measured by what a man or a women accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach these goals.”Surely greatness came to this country once African American women stopped being disregarded and became embraced. Women were disregarded from more male jobs like becoming a doctor or a lawyer. Also women were forbade from certain colleges and weren’t taken seriously. However, some believe that an organization and one women guided the Civil Rights Movement further than any women had before. Dorothy Heights decision to become president of the National Council of Negro Women guided the Civil Rights Movement progress even further for African American women.

For nearly fifty years, Dorothy

Her father, James Height, was a building contractor and her mother, Fannie (Burroughs) Height was a nurse.(“National Council of Negro Women”) She focused primarily on improving the circumstances and opportunities for African American women.(“Dorothy Height/Biography”)The numerous honors bestowed upon her include the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1994) and the Congressional Gold Medal (2004).(“Dorothy Height/Encyclopedia Britannica”)In high school she became socially and politically active, participating in anti-lynching campaigns.(“Godmother of Civil Rights”)) Height worked with Martin Luther King Jr. on different campaigns and initiatives. In 1963, Height was one of the organizers of the famed March on Washington. She died on April 20, 2010, in Washington D.C. Dorothy Height impacted the civil rights movement by all the organizations she led like the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)(“National Council of Negro

The NCNW focused on gathering information, making credible contacts, and sponsoring education programs.(“Dorothy Height/Biography”) In the 1940s the NCNW engaged in a series of activities including the campaign to desegregate the armed forces and assisting women globally during World War II. (“Godmother of Civil Rights”)The NCNW also fought for jobs, the right to vote, and anti-lynching legislation.The NCNW and Dorothy Height worked well together. Height was elected President of the NCNW in 1957.(Dorothy Height/Biography) She was the fourth president. She led the NCNW during the 1960s which was a period of increased racial violence in the South.(Dorothy Height/Encyclopedia Britannica”) In 1963 Dorothy Height offered the NCNW headquarters as a meeting place for national organizations and individuals taking part in the March on Washington August 28.(“Godmother of Civil Rights”)She explored new methods to finance and otherwise support the emerging Civil Rights