always made it her business to be in the room, whether it was working with eleanor roosevelt and mary mcleod bethune, or advising martin luther king, jr., and roy wilkins. after a lifetime of activism, she received both the presidential medal of freedom-- from president bill clinton in 1994-- and the congressional medal of honor-- from president george w. bush in 2004. >> early in life, i learned it was important to have some goals, and to have a sense that you're not just a worker but that you had a mission, and to have a sense of a life's work. and i chose to put my life's work in the direction of equality and justice. >> ifill: height returned to the white house earlier this year when president obama unveiled an oval office copy of the emancipation proclamation. today, the president hailed her as the "godmother of the civil rights movement." height served as president of the national council of negro women for 40 years, and was a longtime board member of the ywca, where she began her career as a social worker. i spoke with her in 2003 when she published her autobiography, "open wide the freedom g

philip randolph, women like mary mcleod bethune, there are americans whose names we know.rk for immigration on wednesdays in mississippi. lending takes to poor farmers as a sustainable form of income, strategizing the civil rights leaders, holding her own, the only woman in the room for this generation. even as she led the national council of negro women with vision and energy. [applause] >> vision and energy, vision and class. but we remember her, not solely for all she did during the civil rights movement. we remember her for all she did over a lifetime. behind the scenes, to broaden the movement reach, to shine a light on stable families and tightknit communities that make us see the drive for civil rights and women's rights, not as a separate struggle, but as part of a larger movement to secure the rights of all humanity, regardless of gender, regardless of race, regardless of ethnic city. it's an unambiguous record of righteous work. worthy of remembrance, worthy of recognition. and yet one of the ironies is that year after year, decade in, decade out, dr. height went

the council was founded, as we know, by mary mcleod bethune when she brought 28 women's organizations together to improve the quality of life for women. dr. height embraced that vision and continued her work, her crusade for justice. through her leadership, she changed our nation by shining a light on discrimination and injustice which was all too common in the century that has just ended. and we still find versions and unfortunately visions of it here taofpltd she was a member of -- today. she was a member of many other organizations that have come to represent so many good things about america: the ywca. and she was a very proud member of delta sigma theta sorority and traveled here frequently with her sorority sisters that i know are in true mourning for her today as well. through her dedication and commitment to these organizations, she encouraged women leaders in national and community organizations and on college campuses. she had an extraordinary presence, a very, very big and warm heart. and she was a great intellect. she had a passion for people. and in her own quiet but very