Senate Awards Congressional Gold Medal to Dorothy Height - Women's Congressional Policy Institute

On November 21, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a bill (H.R. 1821) to award a congressional gold medal to Dr. Dorothy Height, a social and civil rights activist and Chair and past President of the National Council of Negro Women. The House approved H.R. 1821 on October 15 (see The Source, 10/17/03). It will now go to the White House for the President’s signature.

Sponsored by Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA), H.R. 1821 contains a number of congressional findings, including:

beginning as a civil rights advocate in the 1930s, she soon gained prominence through her tireless efforts to promote interracial schooling, to register and educate voters, and to increase the visibility and status of women in our society;
she has labored to provide hope for inner-city children and their families, and she can claim responsibility for many of the advances made by women and African-Americans over the course of this century;
Dr. Height was a valued consultant on human and civil rights issues to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and she encouraged President Eisenhower to desegregate the nation’s schools and President Johnson to appoint African-American women to sub-Cabinet posts; and
Dr. Height is the recipient of many awards and accolades for her efforts on behalf of women’s rights.