Dorothy I. Height, shown in 1974, was a founding matriarch of the American civil rights movement and served as president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years.
Associated Press
Dorothy Height, right, president of the National Council of Negro Women and director of the Center for Racial Justice of the national YWCA, listens to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech, Aug. 28, 1963, in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
AP
James Farmer, head of CORE, Dorothy Height, leader of the National Council of Negro Women, and Whitney Young, director of the Urban League, leave the White House in 1964 after telling President Lyndon B. Johnson that they agreed with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in his criticism of the FBI.
UPI
National civil rights leaders, including Kenneth B. Clark, left, Dorothy Height, Vernon Jordan of the Urban league, Benjamin Hooks of the NAACP, the Rev. Jesse Jackson of Operation Push and Bayard Rustin, gather in 1978 to address the Supreme Court's ruling in the Bakke affirmative action case.
Associated Press
President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan greet Dorothy Height during a White House East Room reception in 1983.
Associated Press
U.S. President Bill Clinton applauds Dorothy Height after presenting her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994.
Doug Mills-Associated Press
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton sings the national anthem before giving the keynote address of the National Council of Negro Women and the Dorothy I. Height Leadership Institute in 1996.
Dennis Cook-Associated Press
Dorothy Height retired as head of the National Council of Negro Women in 1997.
Susan Biddle-The Washington Post
Dorothy Height was on hand in 1998 when President Bill Clinton commemorated the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Equal Pay Act.
Joyce Naltchayan-AFP/Getty Images
First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton greets Dorothy Height onstage after introducing her at a 1998 tribute. In addition to Clinton, those honoring Height included poet Maya Angelou and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Susan Biddle-The Washington Post
Dorothy Height, in a 2000 photo.
Dayna Smith-The Washington Post
Boxing promoter Don King, left, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Oprah Winfrey and former D.C. mayor Marion Barry gather around Dorothy Height before the Uncommon Height Gala Dinner celebrating the civil rights activist's 90th birthday in 2002.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
At his retirement party, C. Payne Lucas, president of Africare, greets Dorothy Height, who had just arrived at the event.
Richard A. Lipski-The Washington Post
Boxing promoter Don King, Suzan Johnson, president of the Hampton Ministries Conference, and then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) congratulate Dorothy Height on receiving the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. The medal is the highest decoration Congress can bestow.
Robert A. Reeder-The Washington Post
Dorothy Height gives the keynote address during the third annual RESPECT awards dinner in 2004.
Rafael Crisostomo-for The Washington Post
Dorothy Height with singer Nancy Wilson, a recipient of an Uncommon Height award in 2005.
Rebecca D'angelo
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) greets Dorothy Height in 2008 before addressing participants in a march of nine historically black fraternities and sororities.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
Oprah Winfrey holds up the Uncommon Height award she received in 2009. She is joined by Dorothy Height, left, and educator Thelma Daley.
Richard A. Lipski-The Washington Post
Gallery Credits:
Photo Editor Sam Funt
Dorothy Height's fashion flair
Services remember Dorothy Height