Mary McLeod Bethune

Mary McLeod Bethune was born as Mary McLeod on July 10, 1875 in Maysville, South Carolina. She was the fifteenth child of 17 to be born to two former slaves, Samuel and Patsy McLeod. Through scholarships, McLeod was able to attend the Maysville Presbyterian Mission School, Scotia Seminary and the Moody Bible Institute. After being turned down for a missionary job in Africa, McLeod returned to the South and met and married Albertus Bethune. With just a $1.50 starting capital, Bethune founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in 1904 and served as school's president from 1904 to 1942 and 1946 to 1947. The class grew from five students to what it is today, the Bethune-Cookman College.

Bethune later turned from teaching to the national scene. She chose to work for black civil rights by becoming a delegate and advisor to national conferences on education, child welfare and home ownership. In addition, Bethune was a consultant to the U.S. Secretary of War for the selection of the first female officer candidates and served as Director of Negro Affairs in the National Youth Administration from 1936 to 1944.

A leader in the black women's movement, Bethune was the President of the National Association of Colored Women, founded the National Council of Negro Women and was a member of President Roosevelt's "Black Cabinet." Bethune also served as Vice President of the NAACP. In 1949, she was awarded the Haitian Medal of Honor and Merit, the highest award in that country and was later awarded the honor in Liberia of Commander of the Order of the Star of Africa. Bethune died on May 18, 1955.

Information has been compiled from Africawithin.com and Lakewood Public Library.