1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,240 Speaker 1: Hey, they're history fans. We're off for today, but please 2 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: enjoy these flashback episodes from the TDI HC Vault and 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:10,400 Speaker 1: be sure to tune in tomorrow for a brand new episode. 4 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: See you then. This Day in History Class is a 5 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:21,360 Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to This Day in 6 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: History Class, a show that shines a light on the 7 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: lesser known heroes of history. I'm Gabelusier, and today we're 8 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:33,280 Speaker 1: celebrating the life of Dorothy Height, a beloved figure of 9 00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:37,480 Speaker 1: the civil rights movement known for her charm, intelligence, leadership, 10 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: and fine taste in heads. The day was March twenty fourth, 11 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: nineteen twelve. Civil rights leader Dorothy Height was born in Richmond, Virginia. 12 00:00:53,280 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: She grew up to be one of the most influential 13 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,680 Speaker 1: women of the modern civil rights movement, but her role 14 00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: in the fight for social justice was often overshadowed by 15 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:06,040 Speaker 1: her male contemporaries. Her name may not be as well 16 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: known as theirs, but her dedication to making the United 17 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:13,839 Speaker 1: States a more open and inclusive place for everyone was unprecedented. 18 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,959 Speaker 1: Height once said greatness is not measured by what a 19 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 1: man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or 20 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:26,600 Speaker 1: she has overcome to reach his goals. Dorothy Irene Height 21 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: had plenty of opposition to overcome on her own road 22 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: to greatness. As a child, she was diagnosed with severe 23 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: asthma and told that she likely wouldn't live past age sixteen. 24 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,040 Speaker 1: She beat those odds, though, and made it through high 25 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: school alive and well. Along the way, she and her 26 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 1: family had moved north to rank in Pennsylvania, not far 27 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: from Pittsburgh. There, Height attended and integrated public school and 28 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: quickly developed a passion for civil rights work. As a teenager, 29 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: she volunteered for campaigns against Lynch and in support of 30 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:05,800 Speaker 1: voting rights. She attended numerous marches and discovered she had 31 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,360 Speaker 1: a natural gift for speech. Making Her way with words 32 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 1: later earned her the top spot in a national oratorical contest, 33 00:02:13,639 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 1: along with a scholarship to Barnard College. Unfortunately, when she 34 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: tried to enroll after graduating high school, she was turned away. 35 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 1: The college said that it had already admitted two black 36 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: female students that year, which meant that its quota had 37 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: been filled. Height decided not to waste a year waiting 38 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: for another shot at one of only two spots at Barnard. Instead, 39 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:42,960 Speaker 1: she attended New York University, where she earned her bachelor's 40 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: degree in education in nineteen thirty. At Columbia University, she 41 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: earned a master's in educational psychology two years later. She 42 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,040 Speaker 1: also did postgraduate studies at the New York School of 43 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 1: Social Work and continued to push for criminal justice reform 44 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: and women's rights. After college, Height became a teacher at 45 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,359 Speaker 1: the Brownsville Community Center in Brooklyn, and later took a 46 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: job as a case worker for the city's welfare department. 47 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: In the late nineteen thirties, she became the assistant executive 48 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: director of Harlem's Young Women's Club of America or y WCA. 49 00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 1: Not long into her tenure, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt came 50 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: to town to attend a meeting of the National Council 51 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:31,480 Speaker 1: of Negro Women. Height was chosen to escort the First 52 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: Lady to the meeting, and once there, she caught the 53 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: attention of Mary McLeod Bethoon, the Council's founder. After the meeting, 54 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: Bethune asked Height to join the group in their fight 55 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: for women's equality. As always, Height jumped at the chance 56 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 1: to volunteer, and later went on to work with the 57 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: organization for nearly forty years, including as its president for 58 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: much of that time. She also served on the national 59 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: board of the YWCA. In nineteen forty six, she helped 60 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: oversee the desegregation of all the WISE facilities nationwide, and 61 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty five she founded the WISE Center for 62 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: Racial Justice, which she led herself for the next twelve years. 63 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 1: Dorothy Height's work for those two organizations reflected a belief 64 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:23,719 Speaker 1: that wasn't shared by many of her contemporaries. Historically, the 65 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 1: black civil rights movement and the women's civil rights movement 66 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: didn't have much overlap, and each group's struggle for equality 67 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 1: was considered its own separate issue. However, Dorothy Height believed 68 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: the struggles were deeply connected parts of the same overarching problem. 69 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:45,160 Speaker 1: Black men and women of all races were marginalized in America, 70 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: and black women doubly so. As a Black woman herself, 71 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: Dorothy Height knew that all too well. Despite her best 72 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 1: efforts to unite the movements, though they largely remained only 73 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: reluctant allies. This left Height somewhere in the middle, sidelined 74 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,679 Speaker 1: by much of the women's movement because of her race, 75 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 1: and by much of the Black movement because of her sex. However, 76 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: the lack of a spotlight never weakened her resolve, and 77 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: she eventually took her place at the highest levels of 78 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: the civil rights movement, right alongside the so called Big 79 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 1: Six that would be James Farmer, John Lewis, a Philip Randolph, 80 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, and Martin Luther King Junior. Although 81 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:33,360 Speaker 1: at least one member of the Big Six, James Farmer 82 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 1: considered Dorothy Height to be the group's true six, the 83 00:05:37,040 --> 00:05:41,120 Speaker 1: member rather than a Philip Randolph. At any rate, Height 84 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,440 Speaker 1: was the only woman on the speaker's platform when MLK 85 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: delivered his I Have a Dream speech at the nineteen 86 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: sixty three March on Washington. Although she had been instrumental 87 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: in planning the event and was a prize winning orator herself, 88 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: she was not given the chance to speak that day. 89 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: Height reflected on the variance in a two thousand and 90 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:05,839 Speaker 1: three interview for NPR. She said, quote, my being seated 91 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,360 Speaker 1: there had some very special meaning because women had been 92 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,720 Speaker 1: trying to get a woman to speak on the program. 93 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,080 Speaker 1: But we were always met by the planners with the 94 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: idea that women were represented in all of the different groups, 95 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,840 Speaker 1: in the churches, in the synagogues, in the unions, organizations, 96 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:24,359 Speaker 1: and the like. So the only voice we heard of 97 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: a woman from the podium was that of Mahelia Jackson, 98 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: a gospel singer. That was a diplomatic response, but by 99 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:35,839 Speaker 1: all accounts, Dorothy Height really was more concerned with the 100 00:06:35,839 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: collective struggle than she was with personal glory. In another 101 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: two thousand and three interview, she told the Sacramento b quote, 102 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: I was there, and I felt at home in the group, 103 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: but I didn't feel I should elbow myself to the 104 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:54,240 Speaker 1: front when the press focused on the male leaders. Once again, 105 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:58,720 Speaker 1: her service, her mission was what mattered. She continued it 106 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: through the nineteen seventy and eighties by establishing self help 107 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: assistance programs through the NCW. She once said, quote, we 108 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: are not a problem people. We are a people with problems. 109 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:15,480 Speaker 1: We have historic strengths. We have survived because of family. 110 00:07:16,520 --> 00:07:19,560 Speaker 1: With that in mind, Height launched a series of Black 111 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: Family reunions in the mid nineteen eighties, held in cities 112 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:27,240 Speaker 1: across the country. The events were large scale celebrations of 113 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: African American history, culture, and traditions. Hundreds of thousands of 114 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 1: people attended the gatherings, helping to foster deeper bonds in 115 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: their communities. Humility and selflessness are admirable qualities, ones that 116 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: Dorothy Height had in spades, But sometimes you really just 117 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:49,160 Speaker 1: want to see a person get the recognition they deserve, 118 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 1: and thankfully, Dorothy eventually did. In nineteen ninety four, President 119 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:58,040 Speaker 1: Bill Clinton presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 120 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: the nation's highest civilian honor. Her She received numerous other 121 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:07,200 Speaker 1: awards and accolades as well, including about three dozen honorary 122 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:14,120 Speaker 1: doctorate degrees from esteemed schools such as Tuskegee, Princeton, and Harvard. However, 123 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 1: the academic honor that likely held the most meaning was 124 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: a degree awarded to her in two thousand and four 125 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: in honorary bachelor's from Barnard College, the same institution that 126 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: had turned her away seventy five years earlier. True to 127 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: her character, Height continued to fight for equality right up 128 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 1: until the end of her life. In two thousand and eight, 129 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:40,559 Speaker 1: just two years before her death, she was looking ahead 130 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:43,679 Speaker 1: to the future of the civil rights movement. She outlined 131 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:47,680 Speaker 1: the next steps, saying, quote, we don't need the marches 132 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: we had in the past, but we need more consideration 133 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: in looking at the boardroom tables and at the policies 134 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: that are going on, looking at what's happening in industry, 135 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: what's happening in terms of employment, opportunity, housing, and the like. 136 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 1: Dorothy Height passed away in Washington, d C. On April twentieth, 137 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:12,120 Speaker 1: twenty ten, at the age of ninety eight. President Barack 138 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 1: Obama remarked on her passing, describing her as quote the 139 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: godmother of the civil rights movement and a hero to 140 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,960 Speaker 1: so many Americans. It was a fitting tribute and a 141 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,600 Speaker 1: well earned title, but Dorothy liked to frame her legacy 142 00:09:27,720 --> 00:09:31,839 Speaker 1: as something more approachable, something that any member of society 143 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: could aspire to themselves. She said, quote, I want to 144 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 1: be remembered as someone who used herself and anything she 145 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,840 Speaker 1: could touch to work for justice and freedom. I want 146 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 1: to be remembered as one who tried. I'm Gabe Lucier 147 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 148 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:56,440 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. You can learn even more 149 00:09:56,440 --> 00:10:00,400 Speaker 1: about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram 150 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 1: at TDI HC Show, and if you have any comments 151 00:10:04,679 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 1: or suggestions, you can send them my way. At this 152 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:11,720 Speaker 1: day at iHeartMedia dot Com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for 153 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,880 Speaker 1: producing the show, and thank you for listening. I'll see 154 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: you back here again tomorrow for another Day in History Class. 155 00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:36,679 Speaker 1: Hi everyone, it's Eves again and welcome to another episode 156 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: of This Day and History Class. The day was March 157 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 1: twenty fourth, nineteen eighty nine. The ex Son of Valdi's 158 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 1: oil tanker spilled eleven million gallons of oil and Prince 159 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:01,160 Speaker 1: William Sound in the Gulf of Alaska. The oil spill 160 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 1: caused extensive damage to the environment and was the largest 161 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:07,960 Speaker 1: in US waters until the Deep Water Horizon spill in 162 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:12,000 Speaker 1: twenty ten. Exon Valdis was one of the newer ships 163 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:15,680 Speaker 1: in the Xon Shipping Company's fleet. The night before the spill, 164 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:21,200 Speaker 1: Exon Valdis left Valdis, Alaska and was headed to Long Beach, California. 165 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: It was carrying more than fifty three million gallons of 166 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: crude oil. Captain Joseph Hazelwood had been drinking alcoholic beverages 167 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: that day, which would later become a point of contention. 168 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:36,720 Speaker 1: The tanker left the dock not long after nine pm, 169 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,400 Speaker 1: but just after midnight on March twenty fourth, the crew 170 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:44,040 Speaker 1: realized that the tanker was off course. At twelve or 171 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:47,680 Speaker 1: four am, it hit bly Reef in Prince William Sound. 172 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,520 Speaker 1: Eight out of the eleven cargo tanks were punctured. Soon 173 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: ten point eight million gallons of crude oil had spilled 174 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:00,600 Speaker 1: into the surrounding waters. Eventually, the spill pill looted more 175 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,480 Speaker 1: than one thousand miles of shoreline in south central Alaska. 176 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,680 Speaker 1: Thousands of seabirds, sea otters, and seals, bald eagles and 177 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,520 Speaker 1: fish died because of the spill. The disaster had a 178 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 1: significant effect on wildlife, environment, reliant industries, recreational fishing, and tourism. 179 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 1: In investigations after the disaster, it was found that Captain 180 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:29,520 Speaker 1: Hazelwood was not at the navigation bridge. Third mate, Gregory Cousins, 181 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: was in charge of it. Cousins had called Hazelwood just 182 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:37,360 Speaker 1: before the vessel struck blyth Reef, recognizing there was danger, 183 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: but it was too late. When investigators found out that 184 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 1: Hazelwood had been drinking before boarding, Exon Valdis Exon fired him. 185 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:49,320 Speaker 1: He was cleared of being intoxicated at the time of 186 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:53,680 Speaker 1: the incident, but he was convicted of misdemeanor negligence. Find 187 00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,440 Speaker 1: fifty thousand dollars and sentenced to one thousand hours of 188 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:03,320 Speaker 1: community service. After years of appeals, Hazelwood began community service 189 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:08,360 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety nine. Xon was deemed responsible for the disaster, 190 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:13,520 Speaker 1: along with the company's incompetent and overworked crew. Blame was 191 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 1: also placed on the US Coast Guard for a poor 192 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: system of traffic regulation. In nineteen ninety Congress passed the 193 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:25,280 Speaker 1: Oil Pollution Act, which created measures for responding to oil 194 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: spills and increased penalties for spills. It also called for 195 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:33,960 Speaker 1: the eventual banning of single hold tankers from US waters. 196 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: Now all tankers for oil, liquefied natural gas, and chemicals 197 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:44,080 Speaker 1: are double hold. Over the years, XON paid billions of 198 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 1: dollars on restitution, cleanup costs, and personal damages. XON employees, 199 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:54,160 Speaker 1: federal responders, and Alaska residents helped clean up the spill. 200 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:59,800 Speaker 1: They used chemical dispersants and booms and skimmers for mechanical cleanup, 201 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 1: but some methods workers used removed oil, yet killed plants 202 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: and animals, and a portion of the Alaskan coastline is 203 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 1: still polluted with subsurface oil. Exon Valdis was repaired, renamed, 204 00:14:14,679 --> 00:14:18,319 Speaker 1: and soon returned to service. It was sold for scrap 205 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:22,280 Speaker 1: in twenty twelve. Though the exon Valdi's oil spill had 206 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:25,960 Speaker 1: a huge impact on the environment and industry, there have 207 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 1: been plenty of other incidents that resulted in much larger 208 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: oil spills in world history. I'm Eve Stefcode and hopefully 209 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: you know a little more about history today than you 210 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: did yesterday. Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll see 211 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 1: you tomorrow. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 212 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.