Q: Who was the woman who led the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years and advised multiple U.S. presidents on Civil Rights issues?
A: Dorothy Height was an educator and social activist who was the president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years. She also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. In addition to providing leadership in the community during the civil rights movement, Height advised First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Height died on April 20, 2010 in Washington, DC at the age of 98 and is buried at Fort Lincoln Cemetery.