[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 57 (Wednesday, April 21, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E610-E611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MEMORIALIZING DOROTHY HEIGHT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                     HON. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 20, 2010

  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, first, let me thank 
Congresswoman Watson for reserving this Special Order today to honor 
the life, legacy and service of Dorothy Height.
  Our Nation has lost an inspirational civil rights leader and 
unwavering advocate for women's rights. As the president of the 
National Council of Negro Women for four decades, Ms. Height fought 
tirelessly for the rights of African-American women. She was a shining 
example for those devoted to achieving equality for all Americans, and 
she served as a hero and role model for those working toward social 
justice.
  As leader of the NCNW, she confronted the problems facing women and 
families in areas ranging from child care, to health care and 
nutrition, to housing. Along with other women's leaders including 
Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, and Betty Friedan, she helped 
establish the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971. Dorothy's 
career in civil rights and women's advocacy spanned nearly 80 years of 
social movements, from the New Deal era to today. She was there for the 
anti-lynching protests in the early 1930s; she was there with Dr. 
Martin Luther King, Jr., our colleague John Lewis and other civil 
rights leaders in the watershed 1960s; she was there for the election 
of our first African-American President, Barack Obama.
  For her achievements and dedication, Dorothy Height was awarded the 
Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton, a 
Congressional Gold Medal in 2004, and 36 honorary doctorates from 
colleges and universities. Her passion and soul have fundamentally 
improved the American social landscape,

[[Page E611]]

and we are truly grateful for her commitment to racial and gender 
equality. Our thoughts and prayers are with her sister, Anthanette 
Aldridge, and all Americans whose lives she has touched.

                          ____________________