The historic post office near Union Station will officially be renamed Tuesday after Dorothy Height, the longtime D.C. resident who fought for women’s equality and racial justice during much of the 20th century.
The unveiling is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and will be attended by many local dignitaries, including Mayor Vince Gray and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who called Height “an iconic messenger for social justice.” It’s the first federal building to be named for an African American woman. Height died last April at the age of 98.
Known as the “godmother of the civil rights movement,” Height’s civil rights career began in the 1930s, when she joined the National Council of Negro Women . Height, who earned a masters’ degree in educational psychology from New York University, became president of the council in 1957 and held the post for 40 years. Height’s advice on major civil rights issues was regularly sought by national leaders like First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Heights’ many national honors include being the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, and the NAACP Spingarn Medal.
