Black Heritage Series Adds Height

The 40th stamp in the Black Heritage series honors Dorothy Height (1912–2010), the tireless activist who dedicated her life to fighting for racial and gender equality. The stamp will be available on February 1.

In 1963, the Height-led National Council of Negro Women joined the Council for United Civil Rights Leadership. Height was an architect of the August 1963 March on Washington, where, although she did not speak, shared the stage with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., when he gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

President John F. Kennedy named her to his Commission on the Status of Women. She attended the 1963 White House ceremony at which he signed the Equal Pay Act. In 1971, Height helped form the National Women’s Political Caucus.

In 1977, Height officially retired from the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), for which she worked for 40 years. In 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A decade later, President George W. Bush presented her with the Congressional Gold Medal.