Dr. Dorothy Irene Height: My Mentor, My Friend

I was introduced to Dr. Dorothy Irene Height by Mrs. Maxine Garrett soon after I moved to Washington, D.C. Mrs. Garrett was serving as the National Treasurer of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), and she was the only friend I had in the area. One evening, she took me to a volunteer meeting for an upcoming NCNW fundraising event. The room was full of women preparing thousands of letters to be mailed.

I had read about Dr. Height. I knew she was President of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW), a protege of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune and a friend of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt. I was aware that she had worked with Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, John Lewis and James Farmer – sometimes called the "Big Six" of the civil rights movement – on different campaigns and initiatives. She helped found the National Women's Political Caucus with Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and Shirley Chisholm.

I was looking forward to meeting this celebrity. Dr. Height was sitting in front of the room stuffing and sealing envelopes. After the introduction, I asked why she was stuffing envelopes. “I never ask anyone to do anything I am not willing to do myself.” Her response became a part of my personal rules for leadership.

Dr. Height played a major role in my professional growth and development. She was a master at managing conflict and problem solving. In 1986, CBS TV aired a special report entitled “The Vanishing Black Family,” hosted by Bill Moyers. It explored changes in the structure of Black families, reporting that 60% of Black children were born to single mothers. Many Black leaders condemned the reporter and the report. Dr. Height would say, “do not get angry, get busy.” (She almost never used contractions when she spoke.) “Let us find some partners, build a coalition, and lift our families up. We have no permanent enemies or permanent friends, just issues that must be addressed.” She was a tireless activist. She led the work to change the narrative by establishing the National Black Family Reunion Celebration to reinforce the historic strengths and traditional values of Black families.

The National Celebration continued for 25 years with support from major corporations. I was working as a Legislative Counsel in the Sears Government Relations Office during this time. I was able to get Sears to become a major sponsor for the event. I was honored to host our strategy planning sessions in the conference room of Sears House at 633 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Dr. Height fell in love with the space. Sears decided to sell the building in 1994. Dr. Height called me into her office (I was now on her staff) to tell me to put her in touch with my former boss because she wanted to buy it to house NCNW.

She never gave up. She garnered the support of people across the nation to invest in her vision of a home for the work of NCNW. Today, that location has been named the Dorothy Irene Height Building. It is the only piece of real estate owned by Black people along that stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue.

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to travel across the world with her, drive her to work, share meals, and to just sit in her living room watching the news. I invite you to learn more about this amazing woman by reading her memoir, “Open Wide the Freedom Gates.”

During this Women’s History Month, I encourage you to remember and celebrate women who have been an inspiration in your life.