At age 96, Dr. Dorothy I. Height, chairman emerita of the National Council of Negro Women, is still going strong.
She’s hanging in here with us as we view the election returns at NCNW's historic headquarters. Dr. Height shared a few thoughts:
Many people lost their lives working to get the vote. For a while we received the vote but we weren’t using the vote. We learned how to use that vote and you see the results tonight.
In many instances we are the swing vote. Just because we are a minority doesn’t mean that we can’t make a difference. We all should be proud that we have a man like Barack Obama. He prepared himself and he carried himself throughout this with dignity and strength. Whether they voted for him or not, they have to acknowledge that he has been presidential all the way.
In many instances we are the swing vote. Just because we are a minority doesn’t mean that we can’t make a difference. We all should be proud that we have a man like Barack Obama. He prepared himself and he carried himself throughout this with dignity and strength. Whether they voted for him or not, they have to acknowledge that he has been presidential all the way.
Dr. Height dismissed the Bradley factor:
They missed the point because Bradley was defeated by 57 votes and there were 5,000 black people in Los Angeles who were unregistered. It wasn’t quite what they were saying. They’re going to have to admit to an Obama factor. Obama’s coattails are carrying in a lot of Democratic candidates.
As to the meaning of a President Obama:
It means that what I’ve worked for has not been in vain. I see in Barack Obama a sense of the future and realize the strength that’s in our people. A young man who’s so devoted, so sincere, and so able to do what he wants to do.
Dr. Height urged us to heed Harriett Tubman’s advice, “Don’t look back, move forward, and keep going.”
