This Day in Black History: March 24, 1912

Civil rights icon Dorothy Height is born in Richmond, VA.
By Britt Middleton
Posted: 03/24/2012 07:00 AM EDT
Filed Under Civil Rights, Barack Obama, President Barack Obama, This Day in Black History, Delta Sigma Theta, Dorothy Height, National News

Civil rights heroine Dorothy Height was born in Richmond, VA, on this day in 1912. Her civil rights career spanned nearly 80 years. For 40 years, she served as president of the National Council of Negro Women, working on issues such as voting rights, poverty and, in her later years, AIDS. She worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other central figures in the civil rights movement and helped found the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971. In 1994, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. Height was also a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and developed leadership training programs there. She passed away on April 20, 2010, at the age of 98. Upon her death, President Obama described her as the “godmother of the civil rights movement and a hero to so many Americans.”

BET National News - Keep up to date with breaking news stories from around the nation, including headlines from the hip hop and entertainment world.

Videos You May Like

(Photo: Susan Biddle/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Follow BET

On Facebook On Twitter

Related Topics

Comments

Trends
Wendy Williams •movies •Celebrity News •Rosario Dawson •Gabrielle Union •Chris Rock •LeBron James •Kyrie Irving •Cleveland Cavaliers •Sports News •Kevin Durant •The Buzz •106 & Park •LGBT •NBA •Jason Collins •Gay Rights •Music News •Fat Joe •tax day •Lauryn Hill •Mary J. Blige •Ja Rule •Roc Nation •Jay-Z •New York Jets •Geno Smith •New York •NYPD •New York Civil Liberties Union •

How You Can Help the Victims in Oklahoma

The Red Cross, Salvation Army and more ways to give. 05/21/2013

Survive Allergy Season With These Natural Remedies

Get relief without a prescription. 05/22/2013

Export Your Summer Jobs Search

What to know about taking a summer job overseas. 05/21/2013

Out and About: Usher and Sugar Ray Fight Juvenile Diabetes

Plus pics of Mary J. Blige, Drake, Kim K. and more. 05/23/2013

The Rundown: French Montana, Excuse My French

A track-by-track review of the Bronx rapper's debut LP. 05/20/2013

Bump Watch: Celebrity Pregnancy Denials

Bey, Brandy and other stars plagued by baby rumors. 05/21/2013

SEARCH

© 2013 BET Interactive, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Black Entertainment Television LLC. All rights reserved.