IN BRIEF

Crisis, The, Mar/Apr 2004

FREEDOM FIGHTER HONORED

Long-time civil rights activist Dorothy Height will receive the Congressional Gold Medal on March 24 in Washington, D.C. Height, chair and president emeritus of the National Council of Negro Women, has worked for more than five decades on equality and justice for women and minorities.

BLACK COLLEGE FOUNDER

Sarah Ann Blocker, a founder of Florida Memorial College in Miami, was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame on Nov. 17. Blocker was only 22 when she helped establish the now 125-year-old institution.

UNCF HEAD RETIRES

United Negro College Fund president, William H. Gray III has announced he will retire in June. Gray, who headed the organization for 12 years, helped raise more than $1.5 billion for the nation's 39 private historically Black colleges and universities.

DEFENSE FUND CHIEF LEAVES

Elaine R. Jones has stepped down after 11 years as president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Jones was the fourth president and first woman to lead the organization. Her last day will be May 1.

MONUMENTTO BLACK SOLDIERS

A monument dedicated to Black soldiers from Mississippi who participated in the Civil War was unveiled at the Vicksburg National Military Park in Vicksburg, Miss., on Feb. 14.