Norton Introduces Dorothy I. Height Bill and Expects Passage Before Congress Adjourns in October
Norton Introduces Dorothy I. Height Bill and Expects Passage Before Congress Adjourns in October
September 14, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC -- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced that she will introduce a bill today to name the historic U.S. Post Office at 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE for Dr. Dorothy I. Height, the longtime president of the National Council of Negro Women who died this year. Norton has pressed for early passage of the bill with congressional leadership and expects passage before Congress adjourns for the October recess.
"Dr. Height's impact on American society is immeasurable," Norton said. "Naming the nation's capital's historic central post office in Dr. Height's adopted hometown for Dorothy is an appropriate living legacy to her accomplishments for the nation. I attended the 25th annual Black Family Reunion, which Dr. Height established, on the National Mall this weekend. The excitement for this bill was electric."
Known as the "Godmother of the Civil Rights Movement," Dr. Height has been recognized with virtually every significant national honor, from the NAACP Spingarn Medal to the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Dorothy Height would be the first African American woman in the nation's capital to have a public building named in her honor.