Members of the Dorothy I. Height Quad Counties Section of the National Council of Negro Women and others convened at the Henry M. Seymour Library July 13 for the unveiling of the official U.S. postal stamp commemorating the life and legacy of the activist.
Height’s stamp is the 40th to be included in the USPS Black Heritage series; she is touted as a tireless fighter for racial and gender equality and most remembered for her “Wednesdays in Mississippi” program. Started in 1964, the group’s goal was to end the racial violence and soften the transition of integration by creating bridges across racial, regional and societal and class lines.
Mayor Steve Rosenthal welcomed the group and shared his memory of the civil rights era and praised the efforts of locals and those who came into the Delta to join in the struggle for civil rights.
“Thank goodness we have learned to honor some of these people who made such a difference in our community and communities all around the United States,” he said.
He also displayed a drawing done by one of his friends of a church that was destroyed during the movement.
Vettra Dobbs, manager of Post Office Operations, expounded on an encounter Height had in 1937 with first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McCloud-Bethune, where Bethune appointed her to the resolution committee of the National Council of Negro Women.
Local Chapter President Tracey Nance followed Dobbs with a more detailed account of Height’s life and her accomplishments, noting that it would require too much time to list them all. However she did share several of Height’s favorite quotes. Most notable is one that says, “Greatness is not measured by what a man or a woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has to overcome to reach this goal.”
United States Postal Services Marketing Manager Monica Minor characterized Height as neither a women’s leader nor an African-American leader, she was a leader who happened to be both. She asked Rosenthal to assist her in the unveiling.
The short program also featured special music by Andy Daniels, a color guard presentation by Boy Scout Troop No. 4478, an invocation done by the Rev. Adoris Turner, a presentation from Indianola Postmaster Annette Turner and closing remarks by Library Director Mary Ann Griffin.
