A final good bye to a true icon Dr. Dorothy I. Height was held Wednesday April 29, 2010 at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC.  President Obama who delivered a eulogy for this courageous woman remembered historical events and facts of her life.

Gospel phenomenon Bebe Winans, sung “Stand”, and moved crowd including our president to tears. World renowned poet Maya Angelou appeared reading a poem for Height; Camille Cosby also expressed words of sympathy.

In the President’s speech, President Obama referred to Dorothy Height as the “godmother of civil rights”, talking about the world she grew up with where slavery and heavy racial discrimination was acute and lynching was sadly something common.“It’s because of her that Michelle and I are here,” Obama said.

(Dr. Height (far right) with Dr. King)

Height was a quietly powerful figure in Washington, meeting with every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower. This pioneer led the National Council of Negro Women for decades and marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Her activism stretched from Obama’s election back to the New Deal. In recent years, she was cheered at events and easily recognizable in the colorful hats she often wore. Height was elected national president of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and also received two of the nation’s highest honors: the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.

Dr. Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality. She has left behind a legacy that will continue to impact people around the world. Dr. Height will truly be missed!

In a book, that will be published soon entitled “Living with Purpose,” Height left some advice. She writes that people should look at the world as it is becoming, rather than as it has been.

“We have to gain recognition not only that no one stands alone, but on a positive side, that we also need each other,” she wrote. “In the long run, it is how we relate to each other and how well we work together that will make the deciding difference.”Dorothy Irene Height (March 24, 1912 – April 20, 2010)