[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 44 (Thursday, April 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN SUPPORT OF THE COMMISSION OF THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ON BEHALF 
                        OF DR. DOROTHY I. HEIGHT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DIANE E. WATSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 18, 2002

  Ms. WATSON of California. Mr. Speaker, for two hundred and twenty-six 
years, the United States Congress has expressed its highest regard for 
exemplary and extraordinary accomplishments by awarding the 
Congressional Gold Medal to its most outstanding citizens. It is now 
time to include among these laureates Dr. Dorothy Height, lifelong 
social worker, internationally known and respected human rights 
activist, who celebrated her 90th birthday earlier this year.
  Dorothy Height, whose public service career spans over 65 years, has 
created an enviable legacy of advocacy and leadership in the cause of 
social justice for the whole nation, and particularly in her advocacy 
for the needs and rights of women, children, and families. She has 
constantly inspired others, from the poor to world leaders, to achieve 
at the highest level. As an advisor to Presidents through their First 
Ladies, Dr. Height has effected significant change in the lives of not 
only African-American women, but all women and their loved ones. She 
counseled Eleanor Roosevelt and prodded President Eisenhower to 
desegregate the nation's schools. She pressed President Johnson to 
appoint black women to sub-cabinet posts. As one of the ``Big Six'' 
civil rights leaders, she was the only woman at the table when Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr., and others made plans for the civil rights 
movement.
  Dr. Height's many achievements and her distinguished service to the 
Nation and world has earned her over 50 awards and honors from local 
and State governments as well as the Federal Government, including the 
following:
  In 1965, she received the John F. Kennedy Memorial Award from the 
National Council of Jewish Women.
  For her contributions in interfaith, interracial and ecumenical 
movements for over thirty years, she was awarded the Ministerial 
Interfaith Association Award in 1969.
  In 1968, she received the Lovejoy Award, the highest recognition by 
the Grand Lodge. Elks of the World for outstanding contribution to 
human relations.
  In 1974, Ladies Home Journal named her ``Woman of the Year'' in 
recognition of her work for human rights;
  The Congressional Black Caucus presented her with the William L. 
Dawson Award for decades of public service to people of color and 
particularly women.
  For her tireless efforts on behalf of the less fortunate, President 
Ronald Reagan presented Dr. Height the Citizens Medal Award for 
distinguished service in 1989, the year she also received the Franklin 
Delano Roosevelt Freedom Medal from the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt 
Institute.
  In 1994, President Bill Clinton presented her with the Presidential 
Medal of Freedom Award.
  Other awards include:
  1993 Springarn Medal from the NAACP;
  1993 Induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame;
  1990 Oleander Foundation's Generous Heart Award;
  1990 Camille Cosby World of Children Award;
  1987 Essence Award;
  1990 Steller Award.
  Dorothy Height has sought no reward, because her monumental 
achievements were comfort and compensation enough. But this Congress 
and the nation owe her a debt of gratitude and should commission a Gold 
Medal for all her contributions. In her own words, `I want to be 
remembered as someone who used herself and anything she could touch to 
work for justice and freedom. I want to be remembered as one who 
tried.'
  It is with knowledge of your enthusiastic support of these noble 
causes that we respectfully request your endorsement of this measure. 
Please contact Alice Holmes at 202-225-7086.

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