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Contact: Anise Jenkins

202-361-9739

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Tribute Upon the passing of Dr. Dorothy Irene Height

Stand Up! for Democracy in DC Coalition (Free DC) pays special tribute to Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, life-long civil rights organizer and Chair and President Emerita of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) who passed early this morning, Monday, April 20, 2010.

We owe a deep, heart-felt thank you to Dr. Height, who provided a meeting place for our new, ad hoc coalition of groups, churches, organizations and individuals in 1997 while we organized, strategized, protested and were even arrested for challenging the takeover of the local government of Washington, DC by the federally imposed Financial Control Board. Her generosity knew no bounds as she opened the doors of her historic headquarters to a very controversial and contentious group.

Dr. Height even allowed us to list her as our “Honorary Chair”, signaling support for true equal citizenship through full statehood for the people of Washington, DC. As the Control Board was phased out, her doors remained open to us for over ten years, as we held teach-ins and programs to educate the community about the need for true equal rights.

Stand Up! can state without reservation that, Dr. Height, despite her beautiful flowered hats and regal bearing, was a true revolutionary in heart and spirit.

Thank you, Dr. Dorothy Irene Height!

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