THE RETURN OF THE EYE

By: Laila Schwin and Valery Warner

February 8, 2022

Dorothy Height was an activist for both African American civil rights and women’s rights for most of her life. She focused on issues that greatly-affected African American women such as illiteracy, unemployment, voting rights, and awareness, among other things. Height was considered to be the first or one of the first leaders in the civil rights movement to acknowledge and fight against the issues facing women within the movement. Through this, she went on to be the president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years.

Height was born on March 24, 1912, in Richmond, Virginia. Shortly after she was born, her family moved to Rankin, Pennsylvania, where she began to excel as a student. She attended a racially-integrated school and attended various clubs that began to teach her about the importance of fighting for her rights. Height was a member of the Pittsburgh YWCA and fought against their policy that barred African Americans from their pools. Alongside her mother, she was also a member of the Pennsylvania Federation of Colored Women’s Club. 

Upon starting high school, Height became active in anti-lynching campaigns and earned a scholarship for her speeches. She graduated from Rankin High School in 1929. 

Shortly after finishing high school in 1929, Height was accepted into Barnard College but was later denied entrance because the college refused to admit more than two black students per year. She then enrolled at New York University and went on to earn her undergraduate degree in 1932 followed by her master’s degree in Educational Psychology by 1933. She continued with her studies for postgraduate work at Columbia University and the New York School of Social Work. 

Height used her positions of authority in both the YWCA and the NCNW to further her work for integration and women’s rights during the civil rights movement. She eventually became a part of the “Big Six” which was a group of up to nine notable civil rights activists with the main members being Martin Luther King Jr., James Farmer, John Lewis, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young. Height organized Wednesdays in Mississippi with Polly Spiegel Cowan, which brought together women across the country to fight against segregation and for women’s equality. She also developed many international volunteer programs with the NCNW in Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America.

Later in life and joined by 15 women, Height went on to form the organization titled African American Women for Reproductive Freedom. The group formed in 1990 with the purpose of fighting the stigma that African American women face for advocating for their own reproductive health. This stigma affects all women, but they focused on the specific aspects of it that are worse for women of color. 

In 1963, Height, along with other civil rights activists, organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. From 1934-1937, Height worked in the New York City Department of Welfare. From there, she became a counselor at the YWCA of New York City, Harlem Branch. She also became President of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) in 1958 and remained in that position until 1990. Eventually, in 1989, she went on to receive the Citizens Medal Award from President Ronald Reagan and later the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994. In 2004, Height was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal. 

On April 20, 2010, Dorothy Height passed away at the age of 98. Her funeral was held at the Washington National Cathedral, and her eulogy was delivered by then president, Barack Obama. She was later buried at Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Colmar Manor, Maryland.                      

{Information for this article can be found at National Women’s History.}

By: Laila Schwin and Valery Warner

January 28, 2022

Black History Month for 2022 is coming up next week. It begins on February 1 and ends February 28. The theme for this year is Black Health and Wellness. This theme specifically focuses on how Black communities have and continue to be medically-discriminated against in the United States. 

Black History Month exists and continues onward to remind us of how African-Americans positively contributed to our country. It is a way to focus on the many achievements and inventions created by African Americans that are often separated from their name or ultimately attributed to someone else. During Black History Month, people should take the time to reflect on these things and to learn about the historical and modern contributions that African Americans have made and how to properly give credit to them. 

The people focus for February are as follows: Dorothy Height, Jesse Owens, Bessie Coleman, and Alvin Ailey. 

While there is an endless list of people who could be written about to honor their achievements, we chose several who are a little less well-known. 

Hopefully, everyone can take the month of February to reflect on the importance of Black History Month and some of the more forgotten historical figures who have contributed to making the world what it is today.

By: BHS Publications Staff

January 20, 2022

“Forgiveness is not an occasional act. It is a permanent attitude.”

On Monday, January 17, The United States of America remembered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for all of his work in spearheading the movement to bridge the gap between people of all races. 

Today, the BHS Publications Staff would like to honor Dr. King by having each student choose a favorite quote and explain its impact on us individually as well as society as a whole.

Daylun: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

I think that this quote is important because too often, people tend to look over the fact that so many people in our world are truly not experiencing freedom to the fullest extent of the word. The fact that the truth about history is often covered up, the fight for human rights is still argued by some, and injustice is rooted in our world and happens every single day shows just why we cannot be silent or silenced about things that matter.

Alaysia: “The time is always right to do right.”

Always do the right thing even when people are not watching you. Do right by yourself and others, and do not expect to be rewarded but find the process rewarding. Every time is the right time to improve and grow as a person.

Laila: “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.”

This quote applies strongly in society today because so many people fall short of making the effort to fight for the causes that affect others rather than just themselves. People tend to remain idle and decide that the many societal issues are someone else’s problem and will be fixed eventually, either on their own or by someone else. There needs to be an understanding that change is never guaranteed without people actively-fighting on its behalf and that people who have even the slightest passion for that change are the only ones who can bring it about. 

Valery: “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” 

I believe this quote can apply to everyone each day. People need to realize they are the only ones in control of their lives, and each day we wake up, we get to choose how we want to live and which path we will take. Nobody is responsible for the choices you make, and nobody can determine your success in life but YOU. 

Tyler: “Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.”

This quote can be applied to anyone in today’s world. Not everyone has the same resources as another to have influence on others, but you cannot use that as an excuse and not try. Life is too short to sit around and wait for something good to come; you must get up and make the best of everything that you have. 

Jaiden: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

I think this quote is meant for everyone in today’s world. As we get older, we have to understand how to be a bigger person. If someone hates you and you hate back, it makes the situation way worse, and now, you and the other person are upset. Instead of doing all of that when someone hates, do not hate back; instead, show love. We do not know why people hate, but it happens, and only light can drive out darkness.

Jose: “We must learn to live together as brothers, or we will perish together as fools.”

I think this quote means that the big problem we have today is that young teens have conflict and resort to violence. If we learn to live as brothers, then love, compassion, and empathy will drive out hate and violence. 

Morgan: “The time is always right to do what is right.” 

The message I get from this quote is that it is never too late to make a change and do the right thing. In the world we live in today, the “right thing to do” can be portrayed as something as simple as a personal goal you want to reach or even something as challenging as making a change in the world that we live in. It is always the perfect time to do the right thing, but only you can determine when that “right time” is for you. 

Chloe: “No person has the right to rain on your dreams.”

What I get from this quote is if it is your dream, then do not let anyone have a say in your dream or what you plan to do with that dream. It is your dream, not theirs! It should not concern them. Never change your dream just because someone has something to say about it. If you want it, you will do everything in the world to achieve it. Never stop your time for anyone as life is either going to go on with or without you, so you might as well work to your fullest potential. 

Dr. King’s work is not finished, and it is up to us to continue his legacy of love and equality for all.  It is never too late to do what is right.