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Civil rights leader Height dies | Civil rights leader Height dies |
(40 minutes later) | |
One of the pioneering voices of the US civil rights movement, Dorothy Height, has died at the age of 98. | One of the pioneering voices of the US civil rights movement, Dorothy Height, has died at the age of 98. |
The leader of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, Ms Height was an advocate for gender equality and the desegregation of the US armed forces. | The leader of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years, Ms Height was an advocate for gender equality and the desegregation of the US armed forces. |
In 1963, she stood on the platform with Martin Luther King Jr during his famous "I have a dream" speech in Washington. | In 1963, she stood on the platform with Martin Luther King Jr during his famous "I have a dream" speech in Washington. |
President Barack Obama called Ms Height "the godmother of the civil rights movement" and a hero to Americans. | President Barack Obama called Ms Height "the godmother of the civil rights movement" and a hero to Americans. |
"Dr Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality... and served as the only woman at the highest level of the civil rights movement - witnessing every march and milestone along the way," he said in a statement. | "Dr Height devoted her life to those struggling for equality... and served as the only woman at the highest level of the civil rights movement - witnessing every march and milestone along the way," he said in a statement. |
Born in Virginia in 1912, into a segregated country where women could not vote, Ms Height trained as a social worker before becoming an advocate for civil rights and gender equality during the 1930s. | Born in Virginia in 1912, into a segregated country where women could not vote, Ms Height trained as a social worker before becoming an advocate for civil rights and gender equality during the 1930s. |
If the times aren't ripe, you have to ripen the times Dorothy Height | If the times aren't ripe, you have to ripen the times Dorothy Height |
She worked to prevent lynching, desegregate the armed forces, reform the criminal justice system, and for free access to public accommodation. | |
In the 1950s and 60s, Ms Height was a key organiser for Martin Luther King Jr along with other civil rights leaders, and was often the only woman in the movement's inner circle. | In the 1950s and 60s, Ms Height was a key organiser for Martin Luther King Jr along with other civil rights leaders, and was often the only woman in the movement's inner circle. |
Ms Height received two of the nation's highest honours - the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. | Ms Height received two of the nation's highest honours - the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. |
When awarding her the congressional medal, then President George W Bush noted that Ms Height had met every president since Dwight D Eisenhower, and "told every president what she thinks". | When awarding her the congressional medal, then President George W Bush noted that Ms Height had met every president since Dwight D Eisenhower, and "told every president what she thinks". |
The BBC's Steve Kingstone in Washington says that with a turn of phrase as elegant as her dress sense, Ms Height liked to remark: "If the times aren't ripe, you have to ripen the times." | The BBC's Steve Kingstone in Washington says that with a turn of phrase as elegant as her dress sense, Ms Height liked to remark: "If the times aren't ripe, you have to ripen the times." |
She died of natural causes at a hospital in Washington on Tuesday. | She died of natural causes at a hospital in Washington on Tuesday. |
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