Despite their contributions often being overlooked, these women played important roles at the local level, connecting national and grassroots organizations.
I’m sharing two top African American women regarding Civil Rights Movement.
Dorothy I. Height
Dorothy Irene Height, born in Richmond, Virginia, on March 24, 1912, devoted her life to fighting for racial and gender equality. As a young woman, she was politically active in social movements and a gifted orator, winning a college scholarship through a national oratory competition. Despite being denied admission to Barnard College due to her race, she went on to earn two degrees from New York University.
Height became involved with the National Council for Negro Women (NCNW) in the 1930s, eventually becoming its president in 1957 and holding the position until 1998. She was vital in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. She had close relationships with many civil rights leaders.
Height also worked with organizations such as the YWCA and the National Women’s Political Caucus, receiving numerous awards for her contributions to society. President Bill Clinton cited her Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Ella Baker
Ella Baker was a leader and civil rights activist who spent her entire life fighting for justice. Born in 1903 in Norfolk, Virginia, Baker graduated at the top of her class from Shaw University in 1927. She migrated to New York City and became a community organizer, journalist, and political activist. Ella Baker co-founded the Young Negroes Cooperative League (YNCL) and served as its national director.
She later joined the NAACP, traveled the South chartering new branches, and served as executive secretary of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). She is best known for founding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and mentoring young activists. Baker’s approach to leadership rejected the traditional charismatic style and emphasized leadership from the bottom up.
Her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement were significant, and her legacy inspires activists today. Her life and work challenge the stereotype of Black southerners being passive and complacent to Jim Crow before the Civil Rights Movement, demonstrating that Black women were the vanguard of the movement.
Their tireless activism and leadership helped achieve significant victories for racial equality, and their legacy continues to inspire activists today.