Skip to global NPS navigation Skip to this park navigation Skip to the main content Skip to this park information section Skip to the footer section. National Park Service Search Search. Exiting nps. Info Alerts Maps Calendar Fees. Loading alerts.
Alerts In Effect Dismiss. Dismiss View all alerts. Contact Us. Dorothy Irene Height. Always bright and inquisitive, even as a child, she knew that when she grew up, she wanted to help others in need. Upon graduation, she worked for some time as a social worker with the New York City Department of Welfare.
NCNW , serving in various capacities for twenty years, until she was elected its fourth national president in November She had the arduous task of leading NCNW during the early s, a turbulent period of increased racial violence in the South as the Civil Rights Movement expanded.
During her over four decades as NCNW president, she met this challenge head on, pushing for equal rights for all Americans regardless of race, class, or gender. Their gathering, called After the March, What? As tensions mounted, Height and NCNW launched a plan that called for racially mixed groups of women to visit rural communities in Mississippi each week during the summer of to foster better communication among the races and encourage voter registration among Blacks.
She and her predecessor, Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee, were two of the first NCNW members to venture down into the deep south to advocate for these issues. This highly successful project became known as " Wednesdays in Mississippi.
