Dr. Dorothy Height
Dr. Dorothy Height was born in 1912 and died in April 2010. She was an American administrator and educator. She dedicated her life to social work, especially civil rights and women rights activist. She gave special attention to the issues affecting the African American women like unemployment, illiteracy and voting rights (Houck et al., 54). She fought for equality between the American women and the African women. In the 1960s Height was very active in the Civil Rights movement and organized a forum every Wednesday to bring together white and black women to dialogue and create understanding between them. She was among the founders of Council for United Civil Rights Leadership. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004 (Height, 224).
Clara Barton
Clara Barton was born in 1821 and died in 1912. She was a teacher and served as a clerk in the US Patent Office before the outbreak of Civil War. During the war, she provided supplies for soldiers and nursed the army in the battle field and in their camps (Pryor, 24). She then started lecturing about her experiences during the war while still working at the office of Correspondence and in the Women Suffrage Movement, where they advocated for women to have political identities. Clara is the founder of American Red Cross, an organization that shows compassion and care to the needy. She envisioned that this organization should give disaster relief, support the military and their families, health and safety services, donate lifesaving blood, among other humanitarian works (Pryor, 345).
Comparison
Dr. Dorothy’s career as a social worker was motivated by the plight of African women in the US. She felt that they were denied their civil rights for being black. On the other hand, Clara’s career as a social worker was birthed after experiencing the Civil War. She experienced the war while giving care services to the army. As a result, she felt the need for America to be ready to handle such disaster anytime they arise. She, therefore, came up with an organization that would help the needy people. The two social workers are similar in that they dedicated their lives to fighting for the rights of the suffering in the community. They were compassionate in nature and selflessly fought for the rights of the suffering. They are also similar in that both selflessly advocated for the advancement of women opportunities including education, jobs, and political identities.
Differences
However, the two are different in that Dr. Dorothy specifically advocated for African women. She was, therefore, a gender and racial activist. Clara, on the contrary, was a humanitarian. She advocated for the rights of all victims of war and disasters, irrespective of gender or race. As a result, she was given the name “Professional Angel” ((Pryor, 447). Her organization to date is dedicated to the same course. During their service as social workers, they faced similar challenges like being looked down upon by their male counterparts. Their dedication and relentlessness made them achieve their goals. They loved their jobs and even when they felt their voices were not heard, they fought the more. For instance, Clara wanted the US government to sign the Treaty of Geneva, which gave relief to the sick and wounded soldiers, but they refused. She fought and brought a similar organization in the US which does that and even serves a bigger scope.
Works Cited
Height, Dorothy I. Open Wide the Freedom Gates: A Memoir. New York: PublicAffairs, 2009. Internet resource.
Houck, Davis W, and David E. Dixon. Women and the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2009. Internet resource.
Pryor, Elizabeth B. Clara Barton: professional angel. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987.
