Dorothy Irene Height watched the evolution of the civil rights movement over the course of her life. She championed African-American rights in the United States as well as the rights of black people to attend school and university. On the anniversary of her 102nd birthday, Google honored her with a Google Doodle.
Height was an activist for more than 80 years of her life. Not only was she present during Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, she stood beside him while he delivered it. She watched her efforts come full-circle when she attended President Barack Obama's first inauguration in 2009.
She was a champion of equal opportunity as well as an invaluable adviser to other leading activists and presidents. Height fought for the desegregation of U.S. schools and increased opportunities for black people to attend American universities. Her efforts helped convince President Dwight Eisenhower to integrate African-American students into formerly all-white schools. She also convinced President Lyndon Johnson to consider more black women for government jobs and served as a personal adviser to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Height's enthusiasm for education stemmed from her own personal experience as a young black woman. Height was accepted to Barnard College in 1929, but when she arrived on campus, Barnard informed her that it had filled its quota of two black female students and ordered her to leave. Stunned and upset, Height left Barnard without a backward glance, hopped on a downtown train and tried her luck at New York University, which accepted her immediately, no questions asked.
Height graduated from NYU in 1933 with a degree in education. She later went on to get her master's degree in psychology. Diplomas in hand, Height went on to lead the National Council of Negro Women for four decades, advised politicians on policy and advocate for African-American rights in the United States. She preferred to work behind the scenes rather than give grand speeches and therefore was cast into the shadows of history, never gaining the same prestige or recognition as King, Malcom X, Rosa Parks and other activists.
Perhaps now that Google has honored her, Height will get a bit of the recognition she deserves.
