Dogon Village News Alerts

As people convene in the nation's capitol to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of Dr. Dorothy I. Height, those unable to attend Celebration of Dr. Height's life should celebrate where they are. And remember to make a donation to the NCNW to keep her legacy alive. www.ncnw.org/

What a blessing it is to have had the opportunity to get to know the matriarch of the civil rights movement, Dr. Dorothy Irene Height who passed away earlier this week. Under most circumstances the death of a 98 year-old may be sad, but it's not shocking. However, even at 98-years-old Dr. Height was everywhere. She went to work in the day, she was on various conference calls giving direction on all types of issues in the evening, and even made it to the parties and had a few of her own. You always got the feeling that she would always be around. She was just at a press conference I coordinated at the US Capitol last month - and I assure you navigating through the Capitol is not easy, especially in a wheelchair.

In 2000 I was in a crowded field in South Africa running around trying to pull the US Delegation to the UN World Conference together to lead a march of over 100,000 people. It was quite hectic. I glanced at the entrance of the field and there was Dr. Height rolling up in her wheelchair.

I feel blessed that I was able to spend Election night 2008 when the first black president was elected, and Inauguration night with the legendary leader. Dr. Height was a database of quotes from leaders ranging from President Roosevelt to Mary McCloud Bethune. She was classy, charming, brilliant, and had a great sense of humor. Dr. Height will be greatly missed.

A few minutes after President Obama was elected president Dr. Height wiped the tears from her eyes and had some wise words for the crowd gathered at the NCNW headquarters – once a holding space for slaves – for an election watch party.

Civil Rights icon Dr. Dorothy Height passed away early Tuesday morning, April 20, at the age of 98. Height died of natural causes, according to a spokesperson from Howard University Hospital.

Height served as the President of the National Council of Negro Women for four decades, stepping down from the position in 1997. She was considered one of the founding members of the Civil Rights movement. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 by President Bill Clinton. In 2004, she was also the recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal.

Height fought for equal rights for both women and blacks, and was active in such causes as securing voting rights, equal employment opportunities and the desegregation of public schools.
Height marched with Dr, Martin Luther King Jr., and spoke out for women’s rights during the Civil Rights struggle. She was instrumental in the fight for equal pay for women and organized numerous programs designed to help women achieve equal rights and independence. During her years as President of the National Council of Negro Women, Height was dedicated to issues that affected women, including child care for working mothers, health and nutrition and providing adequate housing for families in need. Read the full story here

By MARK S. SMITH (AP) WASHINGTON — He may be the world's foremost mixed-race leader, but when it came to the official government head count, President Barack Obama gave only one answer to the question about his ethnic background: African-American.

The White House confirmed on Friday that Obama did not check multiple boxes on his U.S. Census form, or choose the option that allows him to elaborate on his racial heritage. He ticked the box that says "Black, African Am., or Negro."

Obama filled out the form on Monday, supplying information for himself, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha, as well as for Mrs. Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, who lives with the family in the White House.

For Obama, whose mother Ann Dunham, a white woman from Kansas, married his father, the Kenyan native Barack Obama Sr., the question of his racial identity has been a lifelong struggle. His first memoir, "Dreams From My Father," is an account of a difficult journey of discovery. Read the full story here

Obama the community activist and then politician always self-identified as African-American, and he now wears the mantle of America's first black president with pride. On a visit to Ghana last year, he took his wife and daughters to see Gold Coast Castle, the one-time slave trading depot from which thousands of Africans were sent in shackles to a life of toil in the New World. Mrs. Obama is descended from a South Carolina slave.