Civil rights icon Dr. Dorothy Height passed away this morning at the age of 98. Height, a civil rights icon and a champion for women’s rights, served as president of the National Council for Negro Women for 40 years and fought for school desegregation, voting rights and equality in the workplace.

Height’s death comes on Equal Pay Day, the day which marks how long women must work into 2010 to earn the same pay as men earned in 2009. Women still earn, on average, 77¢ for every dollar earned by men. Women of color fare even worse — African American women earn 68¢ for every dollar men do, and Hispanic women make only 58¢.

Dr. Height was there when Pres. John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, and returned to the White House for the 35th anniversary of that legislation when Pres. Bill Clinton called for additional laws to ensure equal pay for women. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first piece of legislation signed by Pres. Barack Obama, added legal protections for those discriminated against in the workplace. Still, additional legislation such as the Paycheck Fairness Act is needed to eliminate this inconsistency once and for all.

AFL-CIO Exec. Vice President Arlene Holt Baker issued this statement on Dr. Dorothy Height’s passing:

Today the nation lost a great leader in Dr. Dorothy Height. Dr. Height’s contributions to advancing freedom and equality in this country have left an indelible mark on our history and our future. She was a champion of civil rights, human rights, women’s rights and workers’ rights. She was on the battlefield with Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Hillary Clinton and Pres. Obama, just to name a few. She remains a strong hero to so many, but especially for African American women, young and old. She embodied struggle, strength, determination, love and elegance. Dr. Height will be sorely missed but she leaves a legacy that earned its way into our history books and our hearts.

MSNBC.com has posted this 2004 NBC News story on Dr. Height:

In a full-page ad in today’s issue of Politico, AFSCME calls for an end to the destructive “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the United States military.

The ad reiterates the statement released earlier this week by Pres. Gerald W. McEntee and includes a photo of former U.S. Army Sergeant Darren Manzella (courtesy of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network). Sgt. Manzella served two tours of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom before being discharged under “don’t ask, don’t tell” in June of 2008.

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this week, Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates echoed President Obama’s call for an end to the policy. Former secretary of state Colin Powell, who opposed efforts by President Bill Clinton to repeal the ban in 1993 while serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has also come out in support of the plan to end “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

The text of the ad reads as follows:

President Obama is right.

It is time to end “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

More than 13,000 Americans, who volunteered to serve and defend our country, have been discharged under the unnecessary and unjust “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Discrimination has no place in any American institution. During a time of two wars, this policy undermines our national security and the effectiveness of our military. It requires the discharge of trained, essential members of military units. It requires dishonesty. And it promotes a misguided notion that some Americans are not entitled to full equality.

Across the globe, our allies — including Britain, Canada, France and Israel — have demonstrated that openly gay and lesbian personnel are as effective fighting the enemy as anyone else in military service. Our military will be stronger when we stop a policy that denies talented men and women the opportunity to serve our country with honesty. Institutional discrimination undermines the spirit of equality that has shaped our deepest values. It is time for Congress to act quickly to bring this relic of bigotry to an end.

Equality should not be denied to any group of Americans. AFSCME is proud of the role we have played in working to end discrimination. For thirty years, we have fought to eliminate discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. Our strength lies in our diversity. We support President Obama’s effort to change a destructive policy. It is time to end “don’t ask, don’t tell.”

Download the ad as a PDF.

“We are encouraged by the steps begun today by President Obama and the Pentagon to end the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy. More than 13,000 American troops have been discharged under this unjust policy that forces gay and lesbian Americans in our armed forces to serve in silence. Discrimination has no place in any American institution. It undermines our national security and the effectiveness of our military by discharging trained individuals who are essential members of military units. It undermines our values by requiring dishonesty and promoting a misguided notion that some Americans are not entitled to full equality.

“Our allies across the globe, including Britain, Canada, France and Israel, have many years of experience demonstrating that the service of openly gay and lesbian personnel does not impact the fighting effectiveness of their armed forces. America’s military will be stronger when we stop a policy that denies talented men and women the opportunity to serve our country with honesty. Discrimination against gay and lesbian service personnel undermines the spirit of equality that has shaped our country throughout our history. It offends our deepest values. It is time for Congress to act quickly to bring this relic of bigotry to an end.

“AFSCME is proud of the role we have played in working to end discrimination on the basis of race, religion, disability and sexual orientation. For thirty years, we have led the fight to eliminate the discrimination too many gay, lesbians, bisexual and transgender Americans face every day in our nation. We support President Obama’s effort to change this destructive and unnecessary policy. It is time to end ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’”

Earlier this month, we saw new evidence that our country has entered a real era of change when President Barack Obama issued a proclamation calling on all Americans to celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month. “As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected,” the President’s proclamation states. “If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit.”

This is a special year in many ways. This month, we mark the 40th anniversary of Stonewall, when the struggle for full citizenship for LGBT Americans began in earnest. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is proud of the role we have played to advance the cause of equal rights for LGBT Americans throughout the years. We are proud of the work of our members and our staff. We are going to continue to fight until we end every policy that treats any group of Americans as second class citizens. Discrimination is wrong. It hurts us all. It must stop.

Decades ago, AFSCME councils and locals across the country took the lead in negotiating employment non-discrimination policies. They used union power to create collective bargaining agreements to protect LGBT public employees. Those victories helped pave the way for non-discrimination policies in the private sector.

But workplace discrimination still goes on. In fact, it remains legal in 30 states to discriminate based on sexual orientation, and in 38 states to do so based on gender identity or expression. As a result, LGBT people face serious discrimination in employment. Too many people are being fired… or being denied a promotion… or experiencing harassment on the job. That is wrong and it must stop. That’s why we’re fighting to pass the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Working with President Obama and our allies in the Congress, we’re going to get this done.

As we celebrate LGBT Pride, it’s also appropriate to remember that AFSCME has been fighting alongside the LGBT community on a host of other important issues. We’re working to pass a federal hate crimes law so that local law enforcement will get the resources they need to keep LGBT families safe and secure wherever they choose to live. We’re fighting to change the tax laws so that domestic partners benefits will not be taxed. We’re fighting to fund programs to protect LGBT youth from harassment. And we’re working to secure a sound retirement for LGBT seniors by ending discrimination in Social Security and tax laws.

We stood with the LGBT community during the darkest days of the AIDS crisis. We fought to end discrimination against People With AIDS. We fought to expand research and treatment programs.

Later this month, the AFSCME Pride Committee at our headquarters in Washington, DC – composed of LGBT and straight employees – will host a guest lecture named in honor of our departed brother, Van Sheets. Van spent 17 years working for AFSCME. Van was taken from us much too early. He loved this union with his heart and soul. We loved and cherished Van in return. Van was the driving force behind the creation of Pride at Work, which does so much to give the LGBT community a voice in the labor movement. I know Van would be very proud of the work the Pride Committee is doing and the event that has been scheduled to honor his memory.

Finally, let’s not forget that the values we share require us to continue to push forward. That’s always been the case in the on-going battle for freedom, fairness and equality. Just look at the fight for marriage equality. AFSCME members – straight and gay – have been fighting on the front lines. Yes, we were disappointed with the results in California last November. But today, let’s celebrate the great progress we’ve seen this year. Iowa, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire have now joined Massachusetts in providing marriage equality for all of their citizens. That’s real progress.

So there is much to celebrate this month. But there is more work to be done. We’re going to do that work, year in and year out, until equal rights exist for the LGBT community and for all Americans. All of us at AFSCME, working together, are going to do our part. We’re going to make equality happen.

It is the right thing to do… for our union… for our families… for our country.

Happy LGBT Pride Month.

What those workers in Memphis fought for, Obama pointed out, is the idea that we have a collective responsibility to each other, “to fight for wages that can raise a family, health care if we get sick, a retirement that’s dignified, working conditions that are safe.”

That AFSCME strike was a milestone in the history of our country, when the labor and civil rights movements came together to demand basic rights and respect for all working men and women.

Last Tuesday’s election was another milestone in building an America that lives up to its ideals. People rose up, volunteered enthusiastically to campaign for change, unify our nation and make history. Just like the AFSCME sanitation workers who walked off the job to bring about change, millions of Americans voted Nov. 4 to move our nation forward with an agenda that values workers and their families.

The strike in Memphis may have ended nearly forty years ago, but the march goes on today. There are many battles yet to be won.

Michael Honey, author of a book on the Memphis Strike, notes that “Obama’s campaign proved that ordinary people do extraordinary things when working together. His dramatic and joyful election victory affirmed the power of organizing.”

He adds:

“Now it’s time for phase two: for churches, unions, community groups and other organizations to demand action from government. President Obama will need us to support him and to push to fulfill our hopes and promises. We need to take the next steps to make real the promise of a revitalized democracy. That won’t happen without mass citizen involvement. As King would tell us, we still need to organize.”

Ruth Davis, proud President of Local 1733, introduced a special video saying, “The video honors Local 1733’s fight, determination and their victory that underlies not only Local 1733, but all of AFSCME and the House of Labor.”

See the video below:

Lucy also spoke movingly of the long history that led up to June 3rd, the day Barack Obama won enough votes to secure the nomination of the Democratic Party for President of the United States. Said Lucy:

“To understand Tuesday night, June 3rd, you have to understand the journey from Goree Island to Charleston, South Carolina, crossing over five thousand miles of ocean chained in the bottom of a ship… To understand Tuesday night, June 3rd, you have to understand the sacrifice of Fannie Lou Hamer, Viola Liuzzo, Rosa Parks, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, Jimmy Lee Jackson, Medgar Evers, E.D. Nixon, the walkers in Montgomery and the marchers in Selma, and the four little girls in a church in Birmingham… And as we look toward the future we do so understanding that nothing is certain but all things are possible.”

Watch an excerpt below:

Across the country, activists held rallies and marches and commemorative events, including several AFSCME affiliates. Local 1733 in Memphis, for example, held a march to the National Civil Rights Museum that received national media coverage. Local 3299 in California held a statewide protest to demand better wages and fair treatment. Images of the strikers’ “I Am A Man” placards were everywhere in the media, including on the front page of the Washington Post .

You can also read and hear strikers Taylor Rogers and Elmore Nickelberry movingly discuss the strike on NPR’s StoryCorps.

On Friday, John McCain went to Memphis as part of his presidential campaign, a brazen act of hypocrisy noted by President McEntee in his most recent entry on the Huffington Post, “McCain in Memphis: Straight Talk or Double Talk?”

And in case you missed it, we’ve posted a special splash page in honor of Dr. King at AFSCME.org which links to an updated MLK section of our website.

In his latest entry on The Huffington Post, AFSCME President Gerald McEntee says McCain has more to be ashamed of than that vote — in 1987, McCain went on record in support of the effort by controversial Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham to rescind Martin Luther King day as a state holiday.

Unfortunately, these brushes with bigotry are part of a pattern. In 1990, Senator McCain voted against the Civil Rights Act. During the Clinton Administration, he voted to defund the national commission promoting Dr. King’s vision for America.

Those are just a few examples of what Pres. McEntee calls “McCain double-talk,” so be sure to read the full post.

On the evening of April 3, 1968, Dr. King delivered his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech – the last formal remarks he would give before his assassination the following day.

A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research shows that Dr. King’s support for unions is more relevant than ever. As the AFL-CIO blog points out, the study

“found that black union workers earned, on average, 38 percent more than their nonunion peers.”

Ministers, community activists and students marched alongside the striking workers in their fight for dignity. Two weeks after Dr. King’s murder, they won collective bargaining rights and recognition of their union.

Community support for the Memphis strike has paved the way for successful coalition work to this day. Witness how the United Methodist Church joined workers at the Walker Methodist Health Center in Minneapolis to win their four-year fight to form a union with AFSCME. Broad community support is also sustaining the current organizing efforts of 10,000 employees at Chicago’s Resurrection Health Care.

This video illustrates the close ties between Dr. King’s dream and AFSCME’s ongoing struggle for social justice. Four decades later, his dream lives on.