VOA标准英语2010-US Civil Rights Activist Dorothy Height D

In this March 14, 2008 file photo, Dorothy Irene Height, who served as President of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years until 1997, sits in front of her featured story board inside the "Freedom's Sisters" exhibition at the Cincinnati Museum Center in Cincinnati.

U.S. civil rights icon¹ Dorothy Height has died in a Washington, D.C. hospital. She was 98.

Height served for 40 years as president of the National Council of Negro Women, taking over the post in 1957 from legendary² African-American educator and activist³ Mary McLeod Bethune. Height stayed until her retirement⁴ four decades later. 

In a statement Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama said he was deeply saddened at Height's passing, and called her "the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero to so many Americans." 

Under her leadership, Height's organization was at the forefront of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. She worked closely with such civil rights leaders as the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and was on the stage when King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

Height also was a strong advocate for women's rights during her career.

She began as a teacher and community activist in the 1930s in New York City's Harlem community.  She met Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in the late 1930s while working as a social worker at the Harlem Young Women's Christian⁵ Association.

Early years

Height said she felt it was her mission to help people from the time she was a child in Rankin, Pennsylvania.

An avid⁶ learner and gifted student, Height entered a national oratory⁷ contest for a four-year scholarship to Barnard College in New York City. Speaking on the subject of the U.S. Constitution, she won the contest and packed her bags for New York.

Her arrival at the school marked the first of many instances in which Height says she would experience the sting of overt⁸ racism⁹. 

"I was accepted at Barnard College and was denied admission when I arrived because they had a quota¹⁰ of two [Negroes]. And they did not know that I was not white. And so, when I got there, I was turned away," says Height. "Nobody can tell me that affirmative action is quotas¹¹ - I know what a quota is."

Before the day was done, Height had applied¹² and was accepted to New York University, where she would earn her bachelor and masters degrees in four years.

Commitment to social change

Fueled by her commitment to social change, Dorothy Height worked alongside Mary McCloud Bethune, founder¹³ of the National Council of Negro Women - from whom she would ultimately inherit the top position. She also served as an advisor¹⁴ on women's issues to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. 

She met Dr. Martin Luther King when he was a 15-year-old student still undecided about his career. Ten years later, she said, 'he became my leader' and she worked beside King throughout the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.

Dorothy Height said the end of segregation¹⁵ in the United States was the greatest change she witnessed in her years as a civil rights advocate. But, she added, that did not end the fight for equality. She said economic empowerment was the next big challenge in the struggle.

Honors

Known as Dr. Height for her dozens of honorary degrees, she also received the country's top honor for a lifetime of public service: the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994.

In 2004, Height was also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for her role as a leading advocate for racial and gender¹⁶ equality.

Height published her memoir¹⁷, Open Wide the Freedom Gates, in 2003.

And, 75 years after turning her away, Barnard College made Dorothy Height an honorary alumna¹⁸, recognizing her qualifications and acknowledging their wrongful exclusion¹⁹.

Staying involved

In a 1993 VOA interview, Height described how her work gave her the energy to remain active at an age when many Americans are well into retirement.

"As I look back, through all the years, I always had a desire to make life better, not only for myself but for others. I think that when you do that, what you find is that you are not alone," she said. "If you keep moving along, you will find you will increasingly have people to join you. That for me has been the driving force. I believe there is so much people can do if we work together. I have spent most of my life working in that direction, and it keeps you moving."

Even into her 90's, when asked if she planned to retire, Height said she would never retire from working for social justice. And she didn't.

 

1 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

2 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

7 oratory   

n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞

参考例句：

• I admire the oratory of some politicians.我佩服某些政治家的辩才。
• He dazzled the crowd with his oratory.他的雄辩口才使听众赞叹不已。

8 overt   

adj.公开的，明显的，公然的

参考例句：

• His opponent's intention is quite overt.他的对手的意图很明显。
• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。

9 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

10 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

11 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

12 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

13 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

14 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

15 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

16 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

17 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

18 alumna   

n.女校友，女毕业生 (pl.alumnae)

参考例句：

• I came across a old alumna in the street this morning.今天早上我在街上碰见一位老校友。
• My alumni and alumna are present at my birthday party.我的男校友和女校友都出席了我的生日聚会。

19 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。