In 1935, Dr. Mary McLeod
Bethune, was the Advisor of Minority Affairs to President Franklin D.
Roosevelt. She felt passionately that the collective, organized and channeled
power of women could change history. When 28 national women leaders of African-American organizations responded to her call, she pointed out that what was needed was not another
organization, but one that would bring the organizations together. Mary Church
Terrell proposed forming a "council." Thus, Dr. Bethune founded the
non-profit, National Council of Negro Women (NCNW): "a national
organization of national organizations."
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| Early NCNW members, Dr. Bethune is front row, center and Dr. Height back row, center |
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| Mary Church Terrell |
Dr. Bethune’s Pledge for
NCNW was:
It is our pledge to make a
lasting contribution to all that is finest and best in America, to cherish and
enrich her heritage of freedom and progress by working for the integration of
all her people regardless of race, creed, or national origin, into her
spiritual, social, cultural, civic, and economic life, and thus aid her to
achieve
the glorious destiny of a true and unfettered democracy.
Born the child of slave parents, Mary McLeod Bethune defied the odds against
her. She became an extraordinary educator, civil
rights leader, and government official who, in addition to founding the National
Council of Negro Women, she also founded Bethune-Cookman College, which has,
since 1943 graduated 13,000 students, with Bachelor’s degrees in 26 major
areas.
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| A young Mary McLeod Bethune |
The National
Council of Negro Women has always had the mission to advance the
opportunities and the quality of life for African-American women, their
families and communities. NCNW fulfills this mission through research,
advocacy, national and community based services and programs in the United
States and Africa. The national headquarters, which acts as a central source
for program planning, is based in Washington, D.C., on Pennsylvania Avenue,
located between the White House and the U.S. Capitol.
Some of NCNW's programs
include:
· The
high-profile annual Black Family Reunion Program Celebration, a two-day cultural event celebrating the enduring strengths and
traditional values of the African-American fathers.
· Early childhood literacy
programs designed to close the achievement gap
· A national obesity
abatement initiative
· A partnership with NASA to
develop Community Learning Centers targeting traditionally underserved students
· Technical assistance to
eight Youth Opportunity Centers in Washington, DC
· Maintaining consultative
status at the United Nations to represent the voice of African-American women
· Linking youth in Uganda, North
Africa and the U.S. in a three-nation educational exchange.
· Developing a small business
incubator in Senegal
· Partnering in the
implementation of a large microcredit program in Eritrea extending small
business loans and training to more than 500 women
Mrs. Bethune always said:
"My
people should have a strong presence in the nation's capital."
NCNW purchased the Bethune Council House on Vermont Avenue NW, in 1943,
where Dr. Bethune also
lived until her death in 1955. Today, it is home to the Bethune Museum and Archives, the only archives devoted to
African-American Women's history, in the United States. By an Act of the 102nd Congress,
the Bethune Council House became a unit of the National Park Service.
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| Bethune Council House |
In 1974, Dr. Bethune became the first Black leader and the first woman to have a monument, the Bethune Memorial Statue, erected on public park land in Washington DC in honor of her remarkable contributions. She also became the only Black woman to be honored with a memorial site in the nation's capital in 1994 when National Park Service acquired the Council House.
NCNW used the equity
from the Council House to initiate the purchase of its current headquarters on
Pennsylvania Avenue, in December 1995 – overseen by the then president, Dr.
Dorothy I. Height.
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| Pennsylvania Avenue NCNW headquarters |
Ironically, slave
traders legally operated the Center Slave Market on Pennsylvania
Avenue at the corner of
7th Street NW. Dr. Height noted, "It seems providential that we stand, today, on the shoulders
of our ancestors with an opportunity to claim this site and sustain a strong
presence for freedom and justice."
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| Center Slave Market |
Dr. Height was an American administrator, educator and social activist. She
joined the NCNW at the age
of twenty-five and eventually served as president for forty years, from 1957 to 1997. Her tireless work with many
organizations (including as president of the African-American sorority, Delta Sigma Theta,
from 1946 to 1957) was so recognized and appreciated that she was awarded accolades,
such the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994, and the Congressional Gold Medal in
2004.
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| Dr. Height receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom |
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| Dr. Height receiving the Congressional Gold Medal |
Born in Richmond, Virginia but growing up in a
steel town near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dorothy was admitted to Barnard College, in
1929; but upon arrival, she was denied entrance because the school had an unwritten
policy of admitting only two Black students per year. Barnard’s loss was New York
University’s gain, where Dorothy eventually earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1932, and a Master's
degree in Educational Psychology, the following year. Dr. Height pursued further postgraduate work
at Colombia University.
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| A young Dorothy Height |
During the
height of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Height organized Wednesdays in Mississippi, with NCNW volunteer, Polly Cowan, which brought
together interracial and interfaith
groups of Northern and Southern women, to create a dialogue of understanding.
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| Wednesdays in Mississippi |
To honor Dr. Height’s longstanding service to NCNW, the organization
established the Uncommon
Height Awards, a year after she retired. Each year, the Uncommon Height Award is presented to the person or persons who exemplify the spirit and
tradition of Dr. Height
through a lifetime of service to others. Proceeds from the Uncommon Height Awards Gala help fund NCNW’s various programs.
Award
Recipients have included: Oprah Winfrey, Sidney Poitier, Dr. Dorothy Height, Quincy
Jones, Bill & Camille Cosby, Maya Angelou, Vernon Jordan and Marian Wright Edelman.
Dr. Height passed away, in 2010, at the age of ninety-eight. The impact she made on so many women and families is immeasurable.
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| Oprah receives the Uncommon Height Award |
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| Sidney Poitier receives Uncommon Height Award |
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| Quincy Jones receives the Uncommon Height Award |
Click here to see a 3-minute video on Civil
Rights and segregation, as told by Dr Dorothy Height; and here to see a 6-minute
video on Dr. Height's thoughts on the Civil Rights Movement, yesterday and today.
Mary McLeod Bethune's and Dorothy Height's legacies of education, civil rights, and leadership continue to endure. As the National
Council of Negro Women celebrates its 75th anniversary, this year,
today, the NCNW consists of over 39 national affiliates and over 240 sections,
connecting more than four million women to the organization. Dr. Bethune's and Dr. Height's dedication and remarkable achievements continue to inspire the mission and work
of NCNW.
The significant challenges
facing our families and communities today requires that the NCNW find
ways to optimize its resources to work more effectively. Historically, positive
change has come about when coordinated, focused efforts have been put into
action, on both local and national levels, simultaneously. This is why the
vision of Mary McLeod Bethune is even more relevant today, than it was in 1935.
Sources:
Wikipedia, National Council of Negro Women, Google Images, YouTube
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