Tribute raises millions to help pay group's mortgage National Council of Negro Women has a building between White House and Capitol SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE WASHINGTON - Oprah Winfrey, DlOn King, Danny Glover and a host of others made civil rights leader Dorothy Height's 9 0th birthday wish come true. The gala in honor of her birth day on March 20 in Washington, D.C., raised more than $6.5 million to retire the mortgage on the his toric National Council of Negro Women national head quarters building at 633 Penn sylvania Ave., N.W. The building is one of the few along the famed strech of road owned by African Americans. What began with a chal lenge and a donation by Don King of $110,000 was quickly taken up by Oprah, who announced a $2.5 million gift. The Freddie Mac Foundation added $1 million. Danny Glover, who co-hosted the evening with Oprah, added $100,000 in memory of his mother, who was a longtime NCNW section president in San Francisco. The outpouring of corporate and private phi lanthropy continued. Even some children and teens stepped forward to make $100 donations. Other notables in atten dance included Maya Angelou (who received the evening's Uncommon Height award); Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton; Education Secretary Rod Paige; Coretta Scott King; A1 Sharpton; former Labor Secre tary Alexis Herman; D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams; Dick Gregory; and a host of political leaders, including Con gress woman M a x i ne Waters; Ambas sador Susula of South Africa and Susan Taylor. The building fulfills one of NCNW founder Mary McLeod Bethune's greatest wishes ? to establish a strong presence of African-American women in the nation's capital to ensure their voices are heard. It is located midway between the White House and the Capi tol and is the only property owned by a n African Ameri can organiza tion ont . the "cor ridor of power." It will house the National Centers for African American Women, including the Dorothy I. Height Leadership Institute. The property has added historic significance because it stands on the corner of the historic site of Washington's slave market. There, in 1848, 77 fugitive slaves were sold after the largest group attempted escape on the Underground Railroad. In that group were two teen-age girls, the Edmondson sisters, who played a crucial role in galva nizing public support for the Abolitionist Movement and inspiring Harriet Beecher Stowe to write "Uncle Tom's Cabin." NCNW purchased the building in 1996. Since being called in by the city of New York as a o social worker to help deal with the Harlem riots of 1935, Height has worked for social justice from the grass-g?ots to the White House to^vedge open doors previously closed to African-American women. She played a historic role planning the Civil Rights Movement with Martin Luther King, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, John Lewis and A. Phillip Randoph. She has known and worked with some of the greatest figures of the 20th century, including W.C. Handy, Marcus Garvey. W.E.B Du Bois, Adam Clayton Pow ell, Mary McLeod Bethune, Eleanor Roosevelt and every president since Truman. Height is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Free dom. the nation's highest civilian honor, and the presti gious NAACP Springarn Medal, among many other honors. The National Council of Negro Women is a coalition of 38 national organizations and 250 community-based char tered sections with an out reach to 4 million members. NCNW has its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and has international offices in Sene gal and Zimbabwe. "It was a never-to-be-for gotten evening," s'at Height. "With this genero the National Council of Ne Women will not only burn t. mortgage but seed an endo\ - ment and assure the future. Wc can never forget our good friends and members who have made this possible." King Angelou Winfruy File Photo Dorothy Height with President Clinton in 1998. Height has been a driving force behind the National Council of Negro Women for decades. Photo by Kevin Walker Philip Merrill flips through a team book for a 1940s black female bowling league. Merrill from page AI and those who want to get their hands on such items. The compa ny also has thousands of historical items in its archives, items that are often rented to film companies to make period pieces look more authentic. The Baltimore-based Unity Cultural Center is the not-for profit arm of the company. Many of the items Merrill has col lected are on display at the cen ter, where Merrill serves as director. During the many lectures that he gives all over the country, Mer rill often emphasizes that items that many people think have no historical or financial value may, in fact, be very significant. "You need to know what to look for. how to look for it and how to interpret ...It's important to have community outreach pro grams that will help to enlighten the public," he said. Merrill has found prized pos sessions in a variety of forms: a team book from an all black women's bowling league in the 1940s, a Knights of the Ku Klux Klan constitution from the 1960s, a letter written to a friend by famed writer Zora Neale Hurston while she was living in Durham. A few of the items that Merrill holds make him poke his chest out a bit. He has a rare photo of free dom fighter Sojourner Truth and a letter written by abolitionist and journalist Frederick Douglass. Merrill has purchased some of the items he has. Others have been simply given to him by fanu ilies to ensure their prosperity, and still others have come by way of very untraditional means. "I will look in trash cans." Merrill said with a grin. "People are used to seeing me in my suits on 'Antiques Roadshow.' but I'm a dumpster-diving king." Merrill also regularly visits flea markets and garage sales. Ironically, he brought along with him items related to Winston Salem he purchased at yard sales in his hometown of Baltimore. These items included a degree from Winston-Salem Teachers College, the school that became Winston-Salem State University, and a yearbook from Atkins High School, circa 1960. "As people pass on and move on, so does their stuff," said Mer rill, explaining how he was able to find the items in his neck of the woods. "Antiques Roadshow," which features a number of appraisers like Merrill who look over items and tell owners whether they have diamonds or duds, is one of the most popular shows on PBS and it has developed somewhat of a cult following. Merrill said some of the regular appraisers on the show now travel with bodyguards to shield them from enthusiastic female fans. Although Merrill has been a regular on the show for some time now, he said he still hates to tell people that grandma's old eye glasses or doll set is virtually worthless. "I am very neutral when I do an appraisal, but I also try to be very personable with people," he said. In between lectures and appearances on the television show, Merrill has found much to keep him busy. He has recently gotten his hands on 1,000 docu ments dating back to the 1820s pertaining to an inter-racial fami ly. Merrill is researching the docu ments in hopes of publishing a book about the find. He also is searching for descendants of the family, some of whom he said are passing for white today in various parts of the country. Merrill also is writing a book about the construction of Alaska's Alcan Highway, which was con structed in bone-chilling condi tions by black soldiers during World War II. Merrill has already interviewed a local man for the book. Hayward Oubre. Oubre, a well-known artist, developed the arts program at WSSU and was one of the soldiers who helped to build the 1,500-mile highway that connects British Columbia. Cana da. with Fairbanks, Alaska. The book should be out by this fall. Merrill Lendmark^wPjm^Sj^^^flHHPmly offinancial services providers, has just moved H^HBnflUorhood! We are anxious Lendmark is in the busiHd3H^x personal and mortgage loans. Our loans are as indHHH|j^E|eopre who apply for Lendmark ' ?"? Wtm?? Financial Services t=r rwwn PIT KHf f Anrll 5 AC At SsOOOM ?Kenneth t . Williams Auditorium Winston-Salem State University IkM S 1)X4 < rnndl Idmhti n limited Seattle (a* (1M) mmt Cr lurrlidte Ikteb at the St flack feeertcn U. fit (tRwum Drive Himlcn Salem. M Flta ( moHnu Bltwk K?u?rv Aiv P mmfit .m?f puvinoet ttimitnw tVom itku ( na^aitir Sen* < itum if jmi iHu Monititul knttauaniimr tV*r th? Wk