Open Wide The Freedom Gates: A Memoir

Dorothy Height marched at civil rights rallies, sat through tense White House meetings, and witnessed every major victory in the struggle for racial equality. In her best-selling memoir, she walks us through her remarkable life of service and leadership. We witness her childhood encounters with racism and thrill at her New York college life during the Harlem Renaissance. We see her march against lynchings, sit with her onstage as Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "I have a dream" speech, and watch as she leads the National Council for Negro Women for forty-one years, her diplomatic counsel sought by U.S. Presidents from Eisenhower to Clinton. The result is not just an inspirational account of one woman’s fight for civil rights, but also "a poignant short course in a century of African-American history." (The New York Times Book Review)

An Essence Bestseller

A Black Issues Book Review bestseller

A Washington Post bestseller

A Dallas Morning News bestseller

A Boston Globe bestseller

A Denver Post bestseller