Dorothy Height (1912-2010) was an influential leader of the civil rights movement for over 70 years.  Her extensive work toward equal treatment of African Americans and women made a lasting impact on the history of the United States.

At 25, Height was inspired to become a civil rights activist and joined the National Council of Negro Women.  She was later elected as the organization’s president and served in the position for 40 years.  In the thick of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, Height established “Wednesdays in Mississippi.”  This weekly meeting encouraged conversations between women of all races in order to find common ground. 

Height also met with influential leaders like Eleanor Roosevelt, President Eisenhower and President Johnson.  In these meetings she would give advice on how to address civil and women’s rights issues in the U.S.  It was Height’s counsel that inspired President Eisenhower to desegregate schools and President Johnson to appoint African American women to government positions.  Height’s work earned her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.

When Dorothy Height passed away on April 20, 2010, President Obama ordered the flag at half-mast – the ultimate honor for a lifetime of activism. The USPS issued the 40th Black Heritage stamp in the series in her honor on Feburary 1, 2017.

Value:  49c

Issued: February 1, 2017

First Day City:  Washington DC

Type of Stamp:  First Class Mail
Printed by:  Ashton Potter
Method:  Offset, Microprint
Self-Adhesive