The Face Of Grace And Dignity Of The Movement Has Passed On - Dorthy Height Died Today

Baltimore Sun's Links To Articles About Dorthy Height

As much as I am inclined to heap criticism upon today's so-called "Civil Rights Leaders" when they prove themselves to be out of touch with the present threats to our community today I am equally inclined to heap praise upon individuals who are deserving of it.

Such is the case with Dorthy Height.  I can't think of a single point in time in which I questioned an action or statement made by Ms Height.  I can't recall a single time in which she used the racial struggle of Black Americans for any partisan political or ideological advantage.  She was the epitome of grace and dignity.

Update: I spent this evening listening to C-SPAN radio's review of several interviews with Dorthy Height.  I can tell that Mary McLeod Bethune  was a strong woman of grace and pride because Ms Height had attributed so much of her own consciousness and disposition to the early mentor in her life - Ms Bethune.   Once again in listening to Ms Height provide a detailed review of her life and how she came to her prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement I heard nothing but dignity and resolve and clarity.  So much of this is missing from today's leaders who, in my view, have compromised themselves and their mission for merely political and ideological purposes.   Her purpose was to assist women of color develop themselves to their full potential while removing obstacles that race and gender had put in their way.   

In listening to the trials and tribulation experienced by Ms Height living in the early and mid-twentieth I am further convinced that those who squander the great opportunities that Ms Height and others struggled to open up for them as evident today are the ones who do  a grave injustice to the memory of their ancestors.  For me the challenge is not to place upon ourselves today the shackles of these ancestors as we attempt to relate to that which they suffered from.  Instead  we must be conscious of the freedoms and justice that we have secured and leverage them as a foundation for further construction of stable communities with abundant competencies flowing throughout. 

What group of women in our present generation will fill the shoes of Dorthy Height, distributing her power into the consciousness of many who walk within them?

She was the long time face of "The National Council of Negro Women".

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Her organization is responsible for the "National Black Family Reunion".  This was an opportunity for members of our community to gather together in the spirit of celebration of our community of families.