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Turned Away in 1929, Civil Rights Leader Dorothy Height is Embraced by Barnard As "Honorary Alumna" 75 Years Later
 Civil rights activist Dorothy Height gratefully accepted the title "honorary Barnard alumna" on Thursday, June 3, as the College celebrated her inspiring leadership and acknowledged her wrongful rejection as a student 75 years earlier during an era of racial quotas in higher education.
During an evening celebration planned by Barnard's Alumnae of Color organization, Height spoke of the hurt she felt even three-quarters of a century later when she recalled the day she arrived in the Barnard dean's office on campus, acceptance letter in hand, only to be told that an unwritten quota of "two Negro students per year" had been filled. Although she went on to earn degrees at New York University and to become a national figure in the Civil Rights Movement, Height, 92, said: "Even today, I can remember how that rejection felt."
Two decades ago, Dr. Height graciously accepted the College's highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction, in recognition of her national leadership on civil rights as the longtime president of the National Council of Negro Women.
Barnard President Judith Shapiro, who led this latest tribute to Dr. Height on behalf of the College at a dinner with 200 alumnae, said: "We are awed by your achievements and see before us, in a society that has come far and has yet far to go, the impact of your legacy. You have fought for women, for African-Americans, for AIDS education, for integration, for progressive policies, for true diversity. And for 92 years you have kept your eye on the prize - a freer and better world." (To read the president's remarks and full citation, please click here).
Accepting the College's recognition, Dr. Height said: "This is really an honor. This is not about my life's work. It is about me and I appreciate it very much. To be here tonight in this roomful of women of color, to feel the spirit of love and healing, makes me feel that my life has come full circle. Something that could have hurt forever has been removed."
 The 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision has focused attention on the legacy of segregated public schools. At colleges and universities throughout the country, discriminatory admissions practices turned away blacks, Jews and other minorities.
Dr. Height addressed these past practices in higher education in her remarks, noting that while the title "honorary alumna" was personally moving to her, it was important as a symbol to "all of those who have been denied an opportunity because of the color of their skin. Racism and sexism are still alive," she said, "And if you don't acknowledge them, they will not disappear."
President Shapiro, quoted by Newsday, The Washington Post and other news organizations that covered the event, said: "To be present now when she is accepted at the College is a wonderful thing, It's healing and it's beautiful." (To read the full Newsday article, please click here. To read the full Washington Post article, please click here.)
Marsha Coleman Adebayo, a 1974 graduate of Barnard, who initiated the tribute and organized the landmark celebration at College Reunion weekend, said: "This is an important and historic statement, not only for all the women of color who have come through Barnard but for other colleges that I hope will follow Barnard's lead in righting these wrongs. This college has taken on the responsibility of acknowledging the horrible deed that happened to Dr. Height."
Dr. Coleman-Adebayo is a courageous social activist herself. As a whistle-blower on the dangers of vanadium mining in South Africa, she was dismissed from her position on the Gore-Mbeki Commission, which provided U.S. assistance to the then-new South African government under President Nelson Mandela. Coleman-Adebayo voiced her concerns about the unsafe mining practices and the involvement of U.S. companies and later won the largest-ever settlement against the U.S. government for discrimination. She works for the Environmental Protection Agency as a Senior Policy Analyst.
Dr. Coleman-Adebayo, in her remarks, noted that Dr. Height was an inspiration in her own life: "You taught us to stand up and fight for our self-worth, for ourselves."
 As part of the celebration of the largest class of African-American women at Barnard (Class of 1974), the Alumnae of Color organization spearheaded the establishment this year of a scholarship fund, named for Zora Neale Hurston, the famous African-American author, anthropologist and folklorist, who graduated from Barnard in 1928, the year before Dr. Height was excluded because of the quota in place at the time.
A pioneer in the Civil Rights Movement and president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years until 1998, Dr. Height was the only woman who worked closely among the civil rights "Big Six," who included Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, James Farmer, Roy Wilkins, John Lewis and Whitney Young.
Dr. Height this year received the Congressional Gold Medal for her lifetime of achievements and 10 years ago was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.
Dr. Height wrote in her recent memoir, Open Wide the Freedom Gates : " In the summer of 1929 ... I [received] a telegram ... asking me to report for an interview at Barnard. When I arrived, breathless, in the office of the dean, I was asked to have a seat. It seemed an eternity before the dean finally came to speak to me. I apologized for being late. It didn't matter, she said. Although I had been accepted, they could not admit me. It took me a while to realize that their decision was a racial matter: Barnard had a quota of two Negro students per year, and two others had already taken the spots."
Winner of a scholarship for her exceptional oratorical skills, she entered New York University, where she earned bachelor and master degrees in four years. She became a social welfare worker in Harlem and was also a longtime administrator of the Young Women's Christian Association.
For more information, please contact: Suzanne Trimel in the Barnard Office of Pulbic Affairs, 212-854-7583, strimel@barnard.edu
Click here for more photos from Reunion 2004. |
