INDIANOLA, MS — Ironically, the calendar may read Thursday, but on July 13, it will feel like Wednesday In Mississippi again, when the U.S. Postal Service hosts a stamp dedication honoring long-time Civil Rights and Women’s Rights activist Dorothy Height. The event begins at 11:00 a.m. at the Henry Seymour Library, 200 E. Percy Street, with scheduled honored guests and speakers including City of Indianola Mayor Steve Rosenthal and Tracey Nance, President of the Dorothy Height Quad Counties Section of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW).

Height, who in February became the 40th stamp in the venerable Black Heritage commemorative stamp series, was a tireless activist and dedicated her life to fighting for racial and gender equality. She became one of the most influential civil and women’s rights leaders of the 20th century and made a lasting impression in the Magnolia State with her 1964 creation of the “Wednesdays In Mississippi” program. The activist group was interracial, interfaith, and each week, teams of women from northern communities traveled to Mississippi on Tuesday and returned home on Thursday, spending all day Wednesday with their southern peers. By establishing bridges across societal, regional, racial, and class boundaries, the ultimate goal was to end the violence and cushion the transition of racial integration as civil rights efforts progressed. Eventually, the program was managed from Jackson, MS, and two years later became Workshops In Mississippi, a program to help poor women better themselves and their families.

“The Postal Service is proud to honor civil rights icon Dorothy Height, an American treasure, whose illustrious career spanned almost a century,” said Ronald Stroman, deputy postmaster general and chief government relations officer, when he originally dedicated the stamp. “The Dorothy Height Forever stamp will serve as a lasting tribute to her life and legacy of seeking equality and justice for all Americans, regardless of ethnicity, gender or race.”

In 1963, the Height-led NCNW joined the Council for United Civil Rights Leadership. Height was an architect of the August 1963 March on Washington, where she shared the stage with Martin Luther King Jr. It was Height who pushed to include a voice of youth like John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and insisted on no time limits for King’s speech.

Gender equality also was important to Height, who fought for the rights of women, particularly women of color. President John F. Kennedy named her to his Commission on the Status of Women, which was chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt. Height attended the 1963 White House ceremony where Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act. In 1971, she helped form the National Women’s Political Caucus. In 1977, Height officially retired from the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), for which she worked for 40 years.

In addition to numerous honorary degrees, Height received the nation’s two highest civilian honors. In 1994, President Bill Clinton awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A decade later, President George W. Bush presented her with the Congressional Gold Medal. In 2009, she was a guest of Barack Obama when he was sworn in as the nation’s 44th president.

The Dorothy Height stamp features artist Thomas Blackshear II’s portrait of Height. The painting is based on a photograph shot by Lateef Mangum in 2009. Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamp. Customers unable to attend the Indianola dedication event should still find the stamp on sale at Post Offices nationwide. Customers may also purchase the Dorothy Height Forever stamp online at the Postal Store usps.com/shop or by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724). A variety of stamps and collectibles also is available at ebay.com/stamps.

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