2008 United States Senate election in Oregon and Dorothy Height: Difference between pages

Revision as of 23:28, 3 April 2007

Revision as of 23:19, 19 July 2007

Line 1:

{{Copyedit|date=June 2007}}

{{future election in the United States}}

{{Infobox Biography

|subject_name=Dorothy I. Height|120px

|image_name= DorothyHeight_Book_Nordstrom_VA_15feb97.jpg

|image_caption= Dorothy Irene Height

|date_of_birth=[[March 24]], [[1912]]

|place_of_birth=[[Richmond, Virginia]] {{USA}}

|date_of_death=

|place_of_death=

|}}

'''Dorothy Irene Height''' (born [[March 24]], [[1912]]) is an [[African American]] [[Public administration|administrator]], [[educator]], social [[Activism|activist]], and a recipient of the [[Congressional Gold Medal]].

Height was born in [[Richmond, Virginia]]. At an early age, she moved with her family to [[Rankin, Pennsylvania]]. While in high school, Height was awarded a scholarship to [[Barnard College]] for her oratory skills, but upon arrival was denied entrance. (At the time, Barnard admitted only two African Americans per academic year and Dorothy had arrived after the other two admittees.) Years later, at its [[1980]] commencement ceremonies, the college awarded Height its highest honor, the [[List_of_Barnard_College_people#Recipients_of_the_Medal_of_Distinction|

The '''Oregon Senate Election''' of 2008 will be held on [[November 4]], [[2008]]. [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Senator [[Gordon Smith]] has indicated that he is likely to seek reelection.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} This Senate contest may be one of the most competitive Senate races during the [[2008]] [[election]].<ref name="CQ6vuln">http://www.cqpolitics.com/2007/01/ratings_chart_2008_senate_race.html</ref>

Barnard Medal of Distinction]]. She later pursued studies at [[New York University]], where she earned her Master's Degree in psychology.

Height started working as a caseworker with the New York City Welfare Department, but at the age of twenty-five, she began her [[civil rights]] activist's career when she joined the [[National Council of Negro Women]]. She fought for equal rights for both African Americans and women, and in [[1944]] she joined the national staff of the [[YWCA]]. She served as National President of [[Delta Sigma Theta]], Incorporated from 1946-1957.

==Announced candidates==

'''[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]]'''

* [[Ty Pettit]]<ref name="blueo">{{cite web|url=http://www.blueoregon.com/2006/03/gordon_smith_dr.html|title=Gordon Smith Draws an Early Opponent|publisher=BlueOregon|accessdate=2007-04-03}}</ref>

She remained active with the organization until [[1977]], and while there she developed leadership training programs and interracial and ecumenical education programs. In [[1957]], Height was named president of the National Council of Negro Women, a position she held until [[1997]]. During the height of the [[American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|civil rights movement]] of the 1960s, Height organized "[[Wednesdays in Mississippi]]", which brought together black and white women from the North and South to create a dialogue of understanding. American leaders regularly took her counsel, including [[First Lady]] [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], and Height also encouraged [[President of the United States|President]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] to desegregate schools and President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] to appoint African American women to positions in government.

'''[[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]]'''

* Senator [[Gordon Smith]]

[[Image:dorothyheight.jpg|left|thumb|225px|Dorothy Height]] Height has served on a number of committees, including as a consultant on African affairs to the Secretary of State, the President's Committee on the Employment of the Handicapped, and the President's Committee on the Status of Women. She has received the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], the ''[[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] [[Freedom From Want Award]]'' and the [[Spingarn Medal]] from the [[NAACP]]. She has also been inducted into the [[National Women's Hall of Fame]].

==Possible candidates==

'''[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]]'''

* Political activist [[Steve Novick]]<ref name="wweek">{{cite web|url=http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3312/8503/|title=If I Ran|publisher=Willamette Week Online|accessdate=2007-04-03}}</ref>

* State Senator [[Ben Westlund]]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

* U.S. Congressman [[Earl Blumenauer]]<ref name="cq">{{cite web|url=http://www.cqpolitics.com/2007/02/from_cq_weekly_the_08_senate_c.html|title=The ’08 Senate Campaign: An Early Line|publisher=CQPolitics.com|accessdate=2007-04-03}}</ref>

* U.S. Congressman [[Peter DeFazio]]<ref name="dietz">{{cite news |first=Diane|last=Dietz|title=DeFazio ponders U.S. Senate run|url=http://www.registerguard.com/news/2007/04/03/a1.defazio.0403.p1.php?section=cityregion|work=[[Eugene Register-Guard]]|accessdate=2007-04-03}}</ref>

In [[2004]], she was awarded the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] by President [[George W. Bush]] on behalf of the [[United States Congress]].

==Announced that they will not run==

'''[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]]'''

* Former Governor [[John Kitzhaber]]<ref name="silverman">{{cite news |first=Julia|last=Silverman|title=Kitzhaber says he won't challenge Sen. Smith|url=http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/12/25/c2.or.senaterace.1225.p1.php?section=nation_world|work=[[Eugene Register-Guard]]|accessdate=2007-04-03}}</ref>

* Secretary of State [[Bill Bradbury]]{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

Dr. Height is currently, at age 95, the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the [[Leadership Conference on Civil Rights]], the largest civil rights organization in the USA.

== Polling ==

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|- bgcolor=lightgrey

! width=200px | Source

! width=150px | Date

! width=125px | Smith (R)

! width=125px | DeFazio (D)

|-

| [http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/26/17030/2078 Grove Insight (D)]

| Feb, 2007

| 38%

| '''42%'''

|-

|}

The musical stageplay ''If This Hat Could Talk'', based on her memoirs "Open Wide The Freedom Gates", opened in the summer of 2005 and is currently on tour. It showcases her unique perspective on the civil rights movement and details many of the behind-the-scenes figures/mentors who shaped her life, including [[Mary McLeod Bethune]] and [[Eleanor Roosevelt]].

==See also==

Other races where Republican-held Senate seats are likely to be hotly contested:<ref name="CQ6vuln"/>

* [[Colorado United States Senate election, 2008]] (Wayne Allard)

* [[New Hampshire United States Senate election, 2008]] (John Sununu)

* [[Minnesota United States Senate election, 2008]] (Norm Coleman)

* [[Maine United States Senate election, 2008]] (Susan Collins)

* [[North Carolina United States Senate election, 2008]] (Elizabeth Dole)

Races with potentially vulnerable Democrats:

* [[South Dakota United States Senate election, 2008]] (Tim Johnson)

* [[Louisiana United States Senate election, 2008]] (Mary Landrieu)

==References==

*Height, Dorothy. ''Open Wide the Freedom Gates: A Memoir.''

{{Reflist}}

[[Category:United States elections, 2008]]

[[Category:1912 births|Height, Dorothy]]

{{Election-stub}}

[[Category:Living people|Height, Dorothy]]

[[Category:African Americans|Height, Dorothy]]

[[Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients|Height, Dorothy]]