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October 1966-—-National BLACK MONITOR
MONITOR
Mentor
Throughout her career, Dr. Dorothy Irene
Height has been aleaderin the struggle for
equality and human rights for all people.
Her life exemplifies her passionate com
mitment for a just society and her vision of
a better world.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, she moved
with her parents to Rankin, Pennsylvania
at an early age. Winner of a scholarship
for her exceptional oratorical skills she
entered New York University where she
earned the Bachelor and Master degrees
in four years.
While working as a caseworker for the
Welfare Department in New York, Dr.
Height joined the National Council of Ne
gro Women (NCNW) in 1937 and her ca
reer as a pioneer in civil rights activities
began to unfold. She served on the na
tional staff of the YWCA of USA from 1944
to 1977 where she was active in develop
ing its leadership training and interracial
and ecumenical education programs. In
1965 she inaugurated the Center for Racial
Justice which is still amajor initiative of the
National YWCA. She served as the 10th
National President of the Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc. from 1946 to 1957 before
becoming president of the NCNW in 1958.
Working closely with Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, A.
Philip Randolph and others, Dr. Height
participated in virtually all major civil and
human rights events in the 1950's and
1960'5. For her tireless efforts on behalf
of the less fortunate, President Ronald
Reagan presented her the Citizens Medal
Award for distinguished service to the
country in 1989. She received the
Spingarn Medal from the National Asso
ciation for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP) in July 1993. She was
inducted into the "National Women's Hall
of Fame" in October 1993 and President
Bill Clinton presented her the Presiden
tial Medal of Freedom Award in August
1994. She received the Black History
Makers Award from Associated Black
Charities in February 1996.
Dr. Height is known for her extensive
international and developmental educa
tion work. She initiated the sole African
American private voluntary organization
working in Africa in 1975, building on the
success of NCNW's domestic projects.
Prior to this success, she carried major
leadership training assignments in Asia,
Africa, Europe and South America.
Page8
Meet
Dr. Dorothy Irene
Height
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She has received numerous appoint
ments and awards. Some of the recogni
tions include appointments 10 the Advi
sory Council of The White House, Initiative
on Historically Black Collieges and Univer
sities by President Bush and to the Na
tional Advisory Council on Aging by Sec
retary of Health and Human Services Dr.
Louis Sullivan.
Dr. Height is also one of the three Found
ing Enablers of AOIP. (The late Dr. Calvin
W. Rolark and Dr. Leon H. Sullivan are the
other two.)
Her awards are extensive, included are
the Stellar Award; the Spirit of Cincinnati;
Ambassador Award; Camille Cosby World
of Children Award; National Caucus and
Center on Black Aged Living Legacy
Award; and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Freedom From Want Award.
As president of NCNW, Dorothy Irene
Height has an outstanding record of ac
complishments. As a self-help advocate,
she has been instrumental in the initia
tion of NCNW sponsored food, child care,
housing and career educational pro
grams that embody the principle of self
reliance. As a promoter of black family
life, she conceived and organized the
Black Family Reunion Celebration in 1986
to reinforce the historic strengths and
traditional values of the African American
family. Now in its 11th year, this multi-city
cultural event has attracted some 10 mil
lion people.
Dr. Dorothy |. Height's lifetime of
achievement measures the liberation of
Black America, the brilliant advance of
women's rights, and the most determined
(Continued on Page 9)
Have you made a contribution to the NAACP, Operation PUSH, SCLC, or the Local Urban League This Month?
BCCN Strives to Get Out the Black Vote
The Black Church Communications
Network, Inc. (BCCN), headed by former
Congressman and pioneer civil rights
leader Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy, has initi
ated its 1996 get-out-the-vote campaignin
an effort to influence public policy directly
affecting the Black community by encour
aging African Americans to exercise their
right to vote.
"It goes without saying that the African-
American community will lose the most if
the ultra-conservative public policy agenda
now being debated by both major parties
inthis electionyear s, infact, implemented
inthe years to come," says Fauntroy, pas
tor of BCCN church member New Bethel
Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. "As
citizens of this country, it is our responsi
bility to make our voices heard and our
preferences known through our ability to
cast a vote."
The BCCN is now in the process of
organizing the members of historically
Black Church denominations to become
part of its get-out-the-vote campaign and
to enlist church members in its "Gideon
Army." The Gideon Army plan is designed
to identify one million African-American
voters from among the pool of 27 million
church goers who would be willing totake
the names of five non-registered voters,
help them to register before October sth,
and take them to the polls to vote on
November sth.
"Based upon the account in Judges 7:20
of God's deliverance of His people from
Midianite oppression, the plan calls upon
every pastor ofthe historically Black Church
denominations to recruit from among their
congregations Holy Bold members who
will be willing to disciple five persons who
are not registered to vote" says Rev.
Fauntroy.
In addition to this political empowerment
thrust, each pastor will be asked to "shep
herd" those five persons spiritually with
respecttothe soul-winning programof the
church, and financially with respect to a
number of economic empowerment initia
tives to be developed by the heads of the
nine historically Black Church denomina
tions working together.
"Just as we have fought back to stem the
tide of church burnings, we can fight on
November 5 to stem the tide of the public
policy assaults on the quality of life for our
people," says Rev. Fauntroy.
He adds, "We can do this only by offering
the citizens of our community every op
portunity to make their voices heard. The
Gideon Army does not tell people who to
vote for or why to vote. We can only en
courage themto be part of this very impor
tant process."
Among the cities with the largest Black
population, which are being targeted for
the get-out-the-vote campaign are New
York City, New York; Los Angeles, Califor
nia; Chicago, lllinois; Houston, Texas;
Philadelphia, Pennsylivania; Baltimore,
Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Memphis,
Tennessee; New Orleans, Louisiana; De
troit, Michigan; Dallas, Texas; Atlanta,
Georgia; Cleveland, Ohio; Milwaukee,
Wisconsin; St. Louis, Missouri; Birming
ham, Alabama; Indianapolis, Indiana; Oak
land, California; Newark, New Jersey; Jack
sonville, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts;
Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; Kan
sas City, Missouri; and Charlotte, North
Carolina. By targeting these cities, Rev.
Fauntroy is hoping to increase the aver
age number of voter turnout in each city by
nearly one million.
Rev. Fauntroy first experimented with
the idea of the nine historically Black
Church denominations working together
on the issue of political empowerment for
the presidential election of 1992. At that
time, Fauntroy and the nine denomination
heads convened the National African
American Clergy Committee. These lead
ers identified five members of their
churches who took the responsibility of
Gideon Soldiers.
According to statistics released by the
Joint Center for Political and Economic
Studies. atotal of more than seven million
African-American citizens votedinthe 1992
presidential election. There was a signifi
cant increase of 1,444 828 Black voters in
the 17 states that were targeted by the
BCCN.
For more information on how to get
involved in the Gideon Army, call (202)
387-9100.
The BCCN was organized in 1992 and its
membership is composed of the leaders
of the historically Black Church denomi
nations. The overall purpose of the organi
zation is to design and implement spiri
tual, economic, and political empower
ment programs that will benefit members
ofthe African-American community, using
the Black Church as a catalyst.