THE COLLEGE OF BISHOPS

HONORS THE LIFE AND WITNESS OF

DR. BENJAMIN L. HOOKS AND DR. DOROTHY I. HEIGHT

April 22, 2010

Dear Connectional Members and Friends,

The College of Bishops and the members of the Commission on Social Justice and Human Concerns of the Christian Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E.) Church are deeply saddened by the recent passing of two African American civil right leaders and icons, Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks and Dr. Dorothy I. Height.

Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, who passed away last week, was a pioneer judge, civil rights leader, Baptist preacher and social justice freedom fighter. In 1965 he was appointed the first black judge since Reconstruction to the state trial court, Tennessee Criminal Court. President Richard Nixon nominated Dr. Hooks to the Federal Communications Commission in 1972. In 1977, Dr. Hooks became the Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). During his tenure at the NAACP, membership grew to several hundred thousand and he used community radiothons to raise awareness of local NAACP branches' work and to boost membership. Dr. Hooks later was chairman of the board of directors of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and helped create The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change at the University of Memphis.

Dr. Hooks created an initiative that gave more employment opportunities to blacks in Major League Baseball and launched a program in which corporations supported development projects in black communities. President George W. Bush in 2007 presented Dr. Hooks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the country's highest civilian honors.

Dr. Dorothy I. Height, the leading female voice of the 1960s civil rights movement who dreamed "freedom in a colorless society," passed away on Tuesday, April 20. President Barack Obama hailed Dr. Dorothy Height as the "the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero to so many Americans.” It was while serving as assistant executive director of the YWCA in Harlem that Dr. Height came to the attention of Dr. Mary McCleod Bethune, the founder of the National Council for Negro Women and then president. Dr. Bethune wanted Dr. Height to volunteer with the organization and join forces in demanding equitable education, employment and pay.

Inspired by Dr. Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Height joined the National Council of Negro Women in 1937 and began dedicating her time and efforts to helping improve equality among women and African Americans. Dr. Height drew inspiration from Dr. Bethune and served as the president of the National Council of Negro Women from 1957 to 1997, eventually becoming chair and president emerita. Dr. Height also chaired the executive committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and was an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., where she served as president from 1946 to 1957. She was seated on the platform with Martin Luther King Jr. when he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech" at the Lincoln Memorial. Dr. Height wanted equal civil and human rights for everyone and she dedicated her life to fighting injustice. In Washington, when Dr. Dorothy Height spoke, U.S. presidents, civil rights leaders, and America's captains of industry listened as they knew she was a soft-spoken and yet powerful leader! In 1994, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.

Dr. Benjamin Hooks and Dr. Dorothy Height were friends of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and helped to strengthen our affiliate partnerships with the NAACP and the National Council of Negro Women. Current and past members of the College of Bishops, including Senior Bishop William H. Graves and Bishop E. Lynn Brown, worked directly with Dr. Benjamin Hooks and the NAACP in many causes for freedom and social justice. The Women’s Missionary Council leaders, including our current president, Dr. Elnora P. Hamb, and the Council's immediate past presidents Dr. Judith E. Grant and Dr. Sylvia Faulk, worked closely with Dr. Dorothy Height and the National Council of Negro Women.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church honors the life and witness of Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks and Dr. Dorothy I. Height for their important roles in the civil rights movement and their inspiration to fight against social injustices. Let us remember these two leaders and trailblazers as transformers of African American history in the United States. Hopefully, their legacy will continue!

The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, under the leadership of Senior Bishop William H. Graves and its College of Bishops, is a 139-year old historically African American Christian denomination with more than 800,000 members across the United States, and has missions and sister churches in Haiti, Jamaica, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For additional information about the CME Church, visit www.c-m-e.org .

Senior Bishop William H. Graves, Sr., CEO

Bishop Othal H. Lakey

Bishop Edward Lynn Brown

Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr.

Bishop Paul A. G. Stewart, Sr.

Bishop Lawrence L. Reddick, III, Secretary, College of Bishops

Bishop Henry M. Williamson, Sr., Chairman of Social Justice & Human Concerns

Bishop Ronald M. Cunningham

Bishop Thomas L. Brown, Sr., Chairman, College of Bishops

Bishop Kenneth W. Carter

Bishop Dotcy I. Isom, Jr.

Bishop Marshall Gilmore

Bishop Nathaniel Linsey