[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5032]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


             CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO DR. DOROTHY HEIGHT

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, before we close tonight, I wanted to make a 
couple of comments. One has to do with a wonderful ceremony that we had 
today in the Rotunda where the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony 
honoring Dr. Dorothy Height was conducted.
  These ceremonies are a wonderful time in the sense that it allows 
each of us to go back as individuals and really celebrate, whether it 
is points in history, great leaders, icons, or pioneers, and indeed 
today in recognizing Dr. Dorothy Height we had all of those--a true 
icon, a pioneer, a leader, a hero, a woman who has had an indelible 
impact on not only one generation but multiple generations. In 
addition, today was her 92nd birthday.
  It had a special meaning for me in that just about a month ago I had 
the opportunity to lead a delegation of 10 Senators, including the 
distinguished Senator who occupies the chair at this juncture, on a 
civil rights pilgrimage through Alabama, and it continued on up into 
Tennessee.
  Over that period of several days, we had the opportunity to walk in 
the steps of true giants. I had the opportunity to spend some time 
today with, indeed, one of those giants of an era of which we are true 
beneficiaries, and that was Dr. Dorothy Height. She was the only woman 
among the big six who planned and led the civil rights movement, an 
extraordinary American, a woman who was truly fearless in a time of 
fear, a woman who was an optimist when the future was bleak, a woman 
who brought people together when others were fighting to keep society 
apart.
  As we sat in that wonderful Rotunda today, thinking about the great 
history and great patriots who are portrayed in the Rotunda, with the 
large dome above, you could not help but think how appropriate it was 
for her to join those patriots in the struggle she led, in large part 
the struggle for equality and that endowment of that right of life and 
liberty and pursuit of happiness.
  It was wonderful to be able to participate in that ceremony. I 
wanted, as we wait to close here shortly, to once again honor Dr. 
Dorothy Height for her tremendous leadership over many years.
  She said, right before the end of that ceremony, in her closing 
remarks, until the Good Lord is done with her, she has a lot more to do 
and people can expect her to continue to do a lot along the way.

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