Bob Menendez: “I would like to take a moment to recognize the life of women and civil rights pioneer Dorothy Height, a woman who helped…”

“I would like to take a moment to recognize the life of women and civil rights pioneer Dorothy Height, a woman who helped pave the way for an African American to be elected President of the Unites States, a Latino son of immigrants to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate, and brilliant Jewish and Latina women to preside in the U.S. Supreme Court. Dorothy Height first immersed herself in the civil rights movement in 1933 when she became a leader of the United Christian Youth Movement of North America. It was her dedication to ending the horror of lynching, reforming the criminal justice system, and securing free access to public accommodations that made her an American hero and the obvious choice to serve as a representative of the YWCA to the World Conference of Christian Youth. While serving as the assistant executive director of the Harlem YWCA, Ms. Height met Mary McLeod Bethune, founder and president of the National Council of Negro Women. Recognizing the promise and potential in Ms. Height, Bethune invited her to join the NCNW in her mission to secure equal rights for women. Throughout her countless years of leadership with the YWCA, the National Council of Negro Women, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, Ms. Height inspired a generation of future leaders. During those days of racism, intolerance, and hatred, it was extremely difficult for a woman, an African-American woman, to advocate for civil rights.”