One of the world's tireless advocates for justice turned 98 this past week and has been hospitalized. Dr. Dorothy Irene Height has spent most of her life fighting for the rights of children, women and African-Americans.
In all her years, she has never slowed down and has never failed to go when and where called. Having never married or had children, she has been nicknamed "secular nun" because despite not being part of a religious order, her service has been as selfless and dedicated to the public good as that of a nun.
I wish I could say I'd had the pleasure, to date, to meet Dr. Height. There are so many questions I would have asked her. Blessedly her life is available as an example.
Despite the hurdles and roadblocks placed in her way, she didn't pity herself and stop, she didn't become bitter and destructive. She got angry and used it to find creative ways around or to remove the roadblock. She used it to see the problem – not just the surface issue but its underlying motivations and causes – and identify potential solutions and implement them.
Her life also exemplifies something I have seen time and time again. Those who step up and do as God asks do not have to defend themselves against the wrong that was done. He takes care of it for them. When Dr. Height was 12, the YWCA refused to let her swim in its pool because she was Black. As an adult, she was part of the national staff of that organization for 33 years, in a capacity to impact policy and make sure other children weren't subjected to the same thing. She was turned away from Barnard College, despite being accepted, because she was the third Black to arrive and the school's policy was to admit only two. In 1980, Barnard College awarded her their Medal of Distinction and in 2004 issued an apology for the institutions actions. I pray I will yet have the chance to meet this icon of motivation and change. If that isn't possible, I will keep looking at her life for motivation and courage.
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