Open Wide The Freedom Gates

Dorothy Height marched at civil rights rallies, sat through tense White House meetings, and witnessed every major victory in the struggle for racial equality. Yet as the sole woman among powerful, charismatic men, someone whose personal ambition was secondary to her passion for her cause, she has received little mainstream recognition -- until now. In her memoir, Dr. Height, now ninety-one, reflects on a life of service and leadership. We witness her childhood encounters with racism and the thrill of New York college life during the Harlem Renaissance. We see her protest against lynchings. We sit with her onstage as Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech. We meet people she knew intimately throughout the decades: W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune, Adam Clayton Powell Sr., Langston Hughes, and many others. And we watch as she leads the National Council of Negro Women for forty-one years, her diplomatic counsel sought by U.S. Presidents from Eisenhower to Clinton. After the fierce battles of the 1960s, Dr. Height concentrates on troubled black communities, on issues like rural poverty, teen pregnancy and black family values. In 1994, her efforts are officially recognized. Along with Rosa Parks, she receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Dorothy Height marched at major civil rights rallies, sat through tense White House meetings, and witnessed every significant victory in the struggle for racial equality. Yet as the sole woman among powerful, charismatic men, and as someone whose personal ambition was always secondary to her passion for her cause, she has received little mainstream recognition -- until now. In her remarkable memoir, Dr. Height reflects on a life of service and leadership. We witness her childhood encounters with racism in her hometown of Rankin, Pennsylvania; the thrill of New York college life during the Harlem Renaissance; and her first battles as a young welfare caseworker during the Depression. We see her march through Times Square in protest against lynchings. We sit with her onstage as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech. We meet the extraordinary people she knew intimately throughout the decades: W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune, Adam Clayton Powell Sr., Langston Hughes, W.C. Handy, and many others. And we watch as she leads the National Council for Negro Women for forty-one years, working tirelessly to join people in the women's movement to those in Civil Rights Movement. Dorothy Height tells us what really happened in those crucial closed-door meetings with Dr. King, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, and A. Phillip Randolph. It is she who urges the men to set aside their factional differences and forge a united Civil Rights Movement. Ever honest and steadfast, her diplomatic counsel is sought by U.S. Presidents from Eisenhower to Clinton. After the fierce battles of the 1960s, Dr. Height focuses her attention on troubled black communities. She devotes her energies to organizing and educating at the grassroots, fighting to combat rural poverty, educate about AIDS, discourage teenage pregnancy, and promote black family values. In 1994, her efforts are officially recognized. Along with Rosa Parks, she receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, from President Bill Clinton. Book jacket.

"In the follow-up to ... A Stolen Life, [kidnapping survivor] Jaycee Dugard tells the story of her first experiences after years in captivity: the joys that accompanied her newfound freedom and the challenges of adjusting to life on her own"--Provided by publisher.

As tensions mounted before Freedom Summer, one organization tackled the divide by opening lines of communication at the request of local women: Wednesdays in Mississippi (WIMS). Employing an unusual and deliberately feminine approach, WIMS brought interracial, interfaith teams of northern middle-aged, middle- and upper-class women to Mississippi to meet with their southern counterparts. Sponsored by the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), WIMS operated on the belief that the northern participants’ gender, age, and class would serve as an entrée to southerners who had dismissed other civil rights activists as radicals. The WIMS teams’ respectable appearance and quiet approach enabled them to build understanding across race, region, and religion where other overtures had failed. The only civil rights program created for women by women as part of a national organization, WIMS offers a new paradigm through which to study civil rights activism, challenging the stereotype of Freedom Summer activists as young student radicals and demonstrating the effectiveness of the subtle approach taken by “proper ladies.” The book delves into the motivations for women’s civil rights activism and the role religion played in influencing supporters and opponents of the civil rights movement. Lastly, it confirms that the NCNW actively worked for integration and black voting rights while also addressing education, poverty, hunger, housing, and employment as civil rights issues. After successful efforts in 1964 and 1965, WIMS became Workshops in Mississippi, which strived to alleviate the specific needs of poor women. Projects that grew from these efforts still operate today.

This book considers de Cleyre's speeches, letters, and essays, including her most well known essay, "Sex slavery". Pt I brings current critical concerns to bear on de Cleyre's writings, exploring her contributions to the anarchist movement, her analysis of justice and violence, and her views on women, sexuality, and the body. Eugenia DeLamotte demonstrates both de Cleyre's literary significance and the importance of her work to feminist theory, women's studies, literary and cultural studies, U.S. history, and contemporary social and cultural analysis. Pt II presents a thematically organized selection of de Cleyre's writings.

Morris provides the first comprehensive examination of the Jackson, Mississippi-based women's organization Womanpower Unlimited. Originally instated in 1961 to sustain the civil rights movement, the organization also revitalized black women's social and political activism in the state through its diverse agenda and grassroots approach.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “In her book, Melinda tells the stories of the inspiring people she’s met through her work all over the world, digs into the data, and powerfully illustrates issues that need our attention—from child marriage to gender inequity in the workplace.” — President Barack Obama “The Moment of Lift is an urgent call to courage. It changed how I think about myself, my family, my work, and what’s possible in the world. Melinda weaves together vulnerable, brave storytelling and compelling data to make this one of those rare books that you carry in your heart and mind long after the last page.” — Brené Brown, Ph.D., author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Dare to Lead “Melinda Gates has spent many years working with women around the world. This book is an urgent manifesto for an equal society where women are valued and recognized in all spheres of life. Most of all, it is a call for unity, inclusion and connection. We need this message more than ever.” — Malala Yousafzai "Melinda Gates's book is a lesson in listening. A powerful, poignant, and ultimately humble call to arms." — Tara Westover, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Educated A debut from Melinda Gates, a timely and necessary call to action for women's empowerment. “How can we summon a moment of lift for human beings – and especially for women? Because when you lift up women, you lift up humanity.” For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down. In this moving and compelling book, Melinda shares lessons she’s learned from the inspiring people she’s met during her work and travels around the world. As she writes in the introduction, “That is why I had to write this book—to share the stories of people who have given focus and urgency to my life. I want all of us to see ways we can lift women up where we live.” Melinda’s unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention—from child marriage to lack of access to contraceptives to gender inequity in the workplace. And, for the first time, she writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world—and ourselves. Writing with emotion, candor, and grace, she introduces us to remarkable women and shows the power of connecting with one another. When we lift others up, they lift us up, too.

African American women have always placed great importance on helping others within their community. They have long formed the backbones of their families, church congregations, and communities. Black women have also played significant roles in the fight for racial equality. This book examines the roles of African American women in the struggle for racial equality and the reasons why these women were often undervalued by their male counterparts and largely ignored by historians until rather recently. Full chapters are devoted to describing the life and leadership of Ida Wells, Dorothy Height, Septima Clark, Rosa Parks, Jo Ann Robinson, Daisy Bates, Ella Baker, and Fannie Lou Hamer. Sidebars throughout the text highlight the contributions of other women who were influential during the Civil Rights Movement.