Papers of Dorothy I. Height, 1933-2012

The papers of Dorothy I. Height, which range in date from 1933 through 2012, mainly document the professional activities of Dorothy Irene Height during her tenure as President of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) (1957-2010). Research values include insight into the collaborative nature, strategies, and goals of women-led organizations, the role of women in the civil rights movement, and the organization's global impact on women and their families. The bulk of the papers, which include administrative records, professional correspondence, memoranda, convention programs, and fundraising activities, provide a substantive overview of the organization's history and evolving organizational structure. Also included are grants and field reports that document NCNW's international work; organizational publications; and published writings by Height. Some publications were transferred to Schlesinger Library's Published Materials Department; consult the library's catalog for holdings. Other professional activities include participation on various advisory boards and committees that advocated for women, provided educational opportunities, and pursued a civil rights agenda. There are also scattered papers related to her career at the YWCA (1937-1977), as well as her voluntary work and presidency of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (1946-1956). The are some personal papers in the collection, including awards, honorary degrees, and tributes; biographical essays and resumes; interview transcripts, and a scrapbook. Personal letters from family, friends, and colleagues were received in envelopes. Although subject content was noted on some folders, most of the papers arrived without an existing order and gaps were noted in all series. Oversized materials, which include honorary degrees, full page clippings, a music score, and posters have been filed within the series they describe. Some papers were previously stored in binders and disassembled prior to accessioning. Binders disassembled by the archivist are noted in the folder title. The archivist created folder titles, consolidated papers to avoid duplication, sorted and interfiled all loose material, and created the arrangement for all series.

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1933-2010, undated (#1.1-6.4, 47FB.1, FD.1-FD.4, F+D.1-F+D.3), includes awards, honorary degrees, and tributes representing Height's commitment to advance the lives of women and their families, her contributions to the civil rights movement, and her efforts to expand the field of social work through global networking. For related memorabilia see Series VI. Biographical essays and interview transcripts provide insights into Height's personal outlook, including challenges and accomplishments. Additional information concerning Height's personal life can be found in Series II. Publications. This series also includes a monthly minder calendar and desk diary, which was used as a calendar, and details her interactions with individuals and organizations. Most of the personal letters and greeting cards in this series are from friends and colleagues that include rank and file members of the NCNW, affiliate organizations, celebrities, congressional representatives. and government officials in the United States and abroad. Some letters include artwork, clippings, invitations, and event flyers. There are also named correspondence folders for two of Height's closest friends, Robert Hall, who served as a consultant for the NCNW's cooperative pig bank in Mississippi and Yvonne Ray, a former NCNW member. These folders also include correspondence and other papers. Memorials and obituaries include tributes, eulogies and remarks offered by Height for friends, former NCNW members, and colleagues in the civil rights movement, including Polly Cowan, Fannie Lou Hamer, A. Philip Randolph, and others. Subject matter of special interest includes Height's genealogical report describing her lineage from the Temne people of Sierra Leone, and a scrapbook she compiled during her recovery from a 1941 car accident containing letters, get well cards, and photographs from many notable friends and colleagues. Folder titles were created by the archivist. Folders are arranged alphabetically, and chronologically thereunder.

Series II, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN, 1935-2012 (#6.5-41.11, FD.5-FD.8, F+D.4-F+D.6, OD.1), contains a wide range of administrative records, including articles of incorporation, by-laws, and amendments; minutes of the board and executive committee; operational plans; policies and procedures; and organizational handbooks. Early progress reports shed light on the leadership of Height and her predecessor Vivian B. Mason, including the launch of the Citizenship-Education Project in collaboration with the Urban League; a study of African Americans in the United States Navy; international relations; and the NCNW's work with the United Nations. Subject matter of special interest include commemorative events for Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune, considered Height's life long friends and mentors. These folders contain speeches, artwork, print material, and other forms of tribute. This series also includes NCNW conventions, consisting of brochures, memoranda, programs, workbooks, and related material. Correspondence in this series documents Height's interaction with affiliate member organizations, corporate sponsors, government officials that includes former presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Regan, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Bill Clinton, and congressional representatives Eleanor Norton Holmes, Edward M. Kennedy, and Patrick Leahy. A 1965 letter from a White House assistant mentions the inclusion of a signing pen used by former president Lyndon B. Johnson for the Voting Rights Bill of 1965 (S.1564), however, the pen was not found. There is also a named correspondence file for Betty Kleckly Stradford, the NCNW's historian and photographer. Additional correspondence and memoranda, are scattered throughout the collection, filed with the activities they describe. Congressional transcripts highlight Height's organized support of legislative bills that were pertinent to the African American community. Congressional support for the NCNW's to preserve the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House and to erect a commemorative statue of Bethune in Lincoln Park are also included. Several fundraising campaigns, supported by NCNW members, corporate sponsors, and the general public include The Brown Box Tradition and Mrs. Bethune's Tea Cakes.

Grants and the way in which they were administered, were instrumental in the development and expansion of the NCNW's domestic and international programs and projects. These records include applications and proposals; budgets, correspondence, reports, and related materials. In some instances, grant funded programs and projects generated further government studies, legislative reforms, and more equitable policies for women. Examples include the Women and Housing Program funded by the United States Department of Housing, the Women's Center for Education and Career Advancement in New York City, and the National Eldercare Institute. Grant funded projects organized in response to the civil rights movement, included Wednesdays in Mississippi (later Workshops in Mississippi), the Pig Bank, a cooperative farm project in Lowndes County, Mississippi, Turnkey III Home Ownership, which provided housing opportunities to low income families in Sunflower and Bolivar Counties in Mississippi and Macon County, Alabama, Okolona College, formerly a normal and industrial school in Okolona Mississippi, which was repurposed for use by unwed mothers. These projects brought Height into contact with many activists in the north and south, including Fannie Lou Hamer, a grassroots civil rights organizer and member of the Mississippi Freedom Party. Following Hamer's death in 1977, the NCNW established the Fannie Lou Hamer Day Care Center in Ruleville, Mississippi, to honor her work and provide continuing support for young working mothers. Grants also laid the foundation for NCNW's international programs. Following Height's participation in the International Women's Year Conference of the United Nations in Mexico City, she received a grant from the United States Agency for International Development, which enabled her to lecture at the National Convention of Black Women's Federation of South Africa. Over the years this working relationship eventually led the formation of the International Division of NCNW, which implemented many of the same self-help models successfully used in Mississippi to create food production and management projects in Botswana, Gambia, Guinea, Lesotho, Mauritania, Mozambique, Kenya, and Eritrea. Height also developed the Twinning Program, initially implemented in Senegal and Togo, to promote communications between African and African American organizations through professional, educational and cultural exchanges. Several summaries of programs and projects are also included.

Published material include organizational handbooks, travel guidelines; pamphlets related to the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House and the Bethune Museum and Archives; Sisters Magazineand newsletters; and two highly popular cookbooks, a collaborative project that focused on African American foodways and family traditions: The Black Family Reunion Cookbook and the The Black Family Dinner Quilt Cookbook. Also included are Height's published writings consisting of articles and essays; draft manuscripts, correspondence, and contracts pertaining to her memoir Open Wide the Freedom Gate; and her leadership guide Living with Purpose: An Activist's Guide to Listening, Learning and Leading. Additional writings by Height are included in Series III. Speeches in this series underscore Height's advocacy for women's rights, her commitment to the civil rights movement, the value of self-help programs and tributes to NCNW founder Mary McLeod Bethune. Several reference files, most likely used for speeches, are also included. Oversized items in this series include sheet music for the Song of the National Council of Negro Women; a publication related to the NCNW annual debutante ball, which Height co-chaired; full page clippings describing NCNW's history, accomplishments, and activities; and posters related to fundraising. Folder titles were created by the archivist. Folders are arranged alphabetically and chronologically thereunder.

Series III, OTHER PROFESSIONAL WORK, 1939-2009, undated (#41.12-45.15, F+D.7), includes papers related to Height's collaborative work with numerous advisory boards and committees focused on achieving equitable opportunities for women, internationalism, voter participation, civil rights and related social and political issues. Included are papers related to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, organized by the United States Department of Defense, the Committee of Correspondence, which established overseas networks with various women's groups; the A. Philip Randolph Institute, and Women in Community Service. The years Height spent working, for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and her continued affiliation, are documented by awards, honors and tributes; clippings; correspondence; material related to regional and national conventions; social events and programs. There are some scattered papers related to Heights early career at the YWCA, including annual reports; awards, honors, and tributes; clippings; correspondence; speeches; and organizational history. Subject matter of special interest include Height's employment forms from 1937; a one page flyer advertising "The Follies of 39," held at the Emma Ransom House in Harlem with Height listed as resident director; and Step by Step with Interracial Groups, written by Height while serving as Interracial Education Secretary at YWCA headquarters in New York (ca.1944-1945). Additional items related to her work at the YWCA and the Delta Sigma Theta sorority are included in Series IV. Photographs, Series V. Audiovisual, and Series VI. Memorabilia. Folder titles were created by the archivist. Folders are arranged alphabetically and chronologically thereunder.

Series IV, PHOTOGRAPHS, ca.1936-2009, undated (#PD.1-PD.30) includes formal and informal photographs of Height alone, receiving awards, and at various speaking engagements and commemorative events. Group photographs include early NCNW conferences, Height posing with social work trainees at YWCA classes, and with members of Volunteers Unlimited. Several photographs highlight the NCNW's internationalism during the 1970s, including Height posing with African women who participated in the NCNW Twinning Program, standing with Patricia Nixon at an African delegation's visit to the White House; and seated with women's organizations in Nigeria. Height is also included in photographs of induction ceremonies and other events held by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Of special interest is an autographed photograph album of Height leading an educational tour in the Republic of China (1984-1985). There is related memorabilia from the tour in Series VI. Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be digitized and available online. Folder titles were created by the archivist. Folders are arranged chronologically.

Series V, AUDIOVISUAL, 1985-2009, undated (T-571.1-T-571.6, DVD-153.1) includes audiotapes, video cassettes, and DVDs related to various NCNW activities. The audiotapes feature plenary sessions from NCNW conventions with Height introduces guest speaker. Also included is a reel-to-reel tape of the YWCA's youth conference on civil rights. "Uncommon Height," an annual celebration of achievement held for various recipients is included on DVD-153.1. Items are arranged by format and chronologically thereunder.

Series VI, MEMORABILIA, 1955-2009, undated (#46RBm.1, 48SBm.1-58F+Bm.4) includes several medallions and plaques presented to Height in recognition of her work. Included is the Congressional Medal of Honor (2004) presented to Height by former president George Bush, medallions from the NAACP, New York University, and the American Culinary Federation, the latter most likely related to the NCNW's highly popular cookbooks. See Series II. Publications. Objects of special interest include a plaque awarded to Height by officials from the Republic of China during an educational tour. The plaque is related to an autographed photograph album described in Series IV. Another item of special interest is an intricate quilt representing the annual Black Family Reunion Celebration, established by Height in 1986. Entitled The Four Sisters Quilt, it includes a textile photo album containing images of Height, her mother and aunts, and family genealogy. This series also includes many items representing Height's long-term membership and presidency of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, including awards, sashes, conference tote bags, and other objects, many of which are inscribed with the sorority's Greek letters. Items are arranged alphabetically.