Mary McLeod Bethune
By
John C Abercrombie
As a very young child, Mary McLeod learned a lesson that taught her the value of an education. A lesson that would shape her and the mission of her life.
Her family was large, consisting of Father Sam, Mother Patsy and 17 children. Mary was the 15th and the first of the children not born into slavery.
Her mother took in laundry as a source of income for the large family. Mary often accompanied her mother when delivering the cleaned laundry. She was fascinated with the toys and books that she would see in the homes of their White customers. One day she saw a book and opened it. The White child snatched the book from her saying that Black people don’t know how to read. This incident so dramatically impacted Mary who realized the difference between Black and White centered on the opportunity to read.
Realizing the ability to read was the major difference between the races, she dedicated her life to learning and teaching. The record shows she excelled on both counts. The result of her dedication made it possible for her to positively impact many lives.
The 15th of 17 children, Mary was the only child to attend school on a regular basis. She was dedicated to learning and walked 5 miles to school every day. She would then come home and teach the family what she had learned.
Mary’s teacher at the school, Emma Jane Wilson played a significant role throughout her life. Wilson had attended what is now Barber Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina. After Mary graduated from High School, she helped Mary receive a scholarship to that school. Mary attended from 1888 to 1893.
After graduation Mary continued her education at what is now Moody Bible Institute. Her goal was to teach and be a missionary to Africa. However, after learning that Black missionaries were not wanted, she turned her sights too educating African Americans here in America.
After graduation from Moody Bible Institute, McLeod worked briefly at the elementary school, she had attended in Sumter County, South Carolina. In 1896 she began to work with the famed Lucy Laney in Augusta Georgia. Working with Lucy Laney was extremely beneficial to McLeod and helped further shape a formidable passion for education. Laney’s attitude of work was filled with zeal, and she emphasized character and practical education for girls. The school in Augusta, also accepted boys who showed up, eager to learn. Laney’s mission was to instill moral education and prepare students to meet life’s challenges.
In 1897 McLeod married Albertus Bethune. They lived in Savannah Georgia where Mary McLeod did social work, they had a son named Albert. While working in Savannah, a Presbyterian minister persuaded the couple to move to Palatka, Florida where Mary McLeod ran a mission school.
The burning desire to start a school for girls drove her to move from Palatka to Daytona, where there was more economic opportunity. In October 1904 she rented a small house, made benches and desks from discarded crates and obtained other items through charitable contributions. She then started the Educational Industrial Trade School for Negro girls. She started with six students, five girls and her son Albert.
The school was located near Daytona’s dump, and being short on funds, Bethune, parents of the students, and church members raised money for the school making sweet potato pies, ice cream, fried fish and other food items, selling them to workers there.
The students sold ink for pens, made from elderberries and pencils made using burnt wood to raise money for the school.
The school received donations of money, equipment and labor from local Black churches. Within one year Bethune was teaching 30 girls at the school.
She sought the involvement of influential organizations and people. She gained participation by James Gamble of Procter & Gamble and Thomas White of White sewing machine along with Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee Institute to serve on the board of directors.
Bethune continued to seek donations of time, talent and finance whenever she traveled. She received a $62,000 donation from John D Rockefeller and cultivated a lasting friendship with Franklin D and Eleanor Roosevelt which gave her entrée into a progressive network.
Bethune worked to educate both Whites and Blacks about the accomplishments and needs of Black people.
Writing in 1938, “If our people are to fight their way up and out of bondage, we must arm them with the sword and the shield and buckler of pride – belief in themselves and their possibilities, based upon knowledge of the achievements of the past.”
The school was open on Sundays so, tourist could visit and see the outstanding accomplishments of the students. They hosted national speakers, speaking on issues of race. These meetings were integrated with people taking open seats, rather than having segregated sections for Black and White. This was quite an accomplishment considering the racist segregation laws that were on the books at that time.
When the United States Supreme Court ruled in the Brown v Board of Education case in 1954 that segregation in public school was unconstitutional, Bethune wrote the following in the Chicago defender.
“There can be no divided democracy, no class government, no half free country under the Constitution. Therefore, there can be no discrimination, no segregation, no separation of some citizens from the rights which belong to all…. We are on our way. But these are frontiers which we must conquer…. We must gain full equality in education…. In the franchise…. In the economic opportunity and full equality in the abundance of life.”
The school that she started was not a charm school, the curriculum was rigorous and started at 5:30 AM with Bible study. During the day the girls studied home economics and industrial skills with the goal of becoming self-sufficient. The day did not end until 9 PM. Although the initial classes formed the core curriculum, science and business courses were soon added.
Bethune worked her entire life to educate both Blacks and Whites about the accomplishments and needs of Black people. She believed that Black people must arm themselves with the belief in themselves and their possibilities based on knowledge of the achievements in the past. Also, that not only Black children but children of all races should read and know of the achievements, accomplishments and deeds of Blacks based on a common understanding of the contributions of all cultures.
In 1931 the Methodist Church helped merge the Bethune School with Cookman Institute a school for boys. This was the formation of Bethune-Cookman College. When first started, Bethune-Cookman was a junior college, but by 1941 the college had developed a four-year curriculum and achieved full college status meeting all the educational requirements of the state of Florida.
Bethune was a tireless worker for her causes and in 1896 Bethune served as the Florida president of the National Association of Colored Women. She worked to register Black voters which was hampered by Florida law. Despite threats by the Ku Klux Klan Bethune persisted.
She served as president of the Southern Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs from 1920 to 1925. They worked to improve opportunities for Black women.
In 1924, she was elected national president of the National Association of Colored Women and under her leadership acquired a national headquarters and presence in Washington, DC. Becoming the first Black controlled organization with headquarters in the nation’s capital.
With a national reputation Bethune was invited to attend the Child Welfare Conference called by Republican President Calvin Coolidge in 1928.
In 1930, President Herbert Hoover appointed her to the White House Conference on Child Health.
Bethune became president of the Southeastern Association of Colored Women’s Clubs with the intent of reaching out to White Southern Women in an attempt to gain rights for Black women. They agreed on all major points until the subject of suffrage (the right to vote) came up. The White women tried to strike down the resolution.
The Southern Association of Colored Women’s Clubs then issued a pamphlet “Southern Negro Women and Race Co-Operation which outlined their demands on domestic service, child welfare, conditions of travel, education, lynching, the public press and of course voting rights.
The SACWC continued to work on voting after the passage of the constitutional amendment, however Black men and women were largely disenfranchised by discriminatory application of literacy and comprehension tests as well as such requirements as poll taxes, length of residency and the need to keep and display records.
In 1935 Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women with her pledge to work on behalf of all people regardless of race, creed or national origin in all phases of spiritual, social, cultural, civic and economic life thereby achieving a glorious destiny of a true and unfettered democracy.
In 1938 the National Council of Negro Women hosted the White House Conference on Negro Women and Children showing the importance of Black Women in democratic roles. During this tenure, they gained approval for Black women to be commissioned as officers in the Women’s Army Corps. Bethune also served as a political appointee to the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War.
During the 1990’s the headquarters moved to Pennsylvania Ave and the former headquarters was designated a National Historic Site.
The Roosevelt Works Progress Administration (WPA) had a division, the National Youth Administration (NYA) that worked to promote relief and employment of young people between the ages of 16 and 25. Bethune worked so aggressively and effectively that she was named a full-time staff position as an assistant.
Two years later, Bethune was appointed Director of the Division of Negro Affairs becoming the first Black female to head a division. She ensured Black college participation in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, graduating some of the first Black pilots. The director of the NYA said in 1939 “No one can do what Mrs. Bethune can do.” Her work led National officials to recognize the need to improve employment for Black youth.
Bethune worked within the administration for the appointment of Black officials. Bethune’s administrative assistants served as liaisons between the National division of Negro Affairs and the NYA agencies on the state and local levels. They helped get better job and salary opportunities for Blacks across the country.
Bethune also pushed for consumer education for Blacks and the formation of a group for Black crippled children.
Black Cabinet
Bethune used her access to form a coalition of Black leaders called the Council of Negro Affairs also known as the Black Cabinet. Serving as an advisory board to the Roosevelt administration.
This was the first collective of Blacks working in higher positions in government. While they did not directly create public policy they were highly respected among Black voters. They influenced political appointments and funds that benefited Black people.
Bethune died May 18, 1955.
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“The drums of Africa still beat in my heart. They will not let me rest.”
These are the words of Mary McLeod Bethune. She worked her whole life to make the world a better place. As a child, she loved to read. As a woman, she loved to teach. She started a school; she founded a hospital. Everywhere she saw a need, she searched for a solution
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Black Women’s Skin Care
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From this documentary portrait, a talented and multifaceted contributor to the black experience in the 20th century United States emerges. Much is owed to Bethune, and readers gain an appreciation of that debt.” ―Choice
This volume explores the multi-faceted career of Mary McLeod Bethune (1875–1955) in her roles as stateswoman, politician, educational leader, and social visionary. It offers a unique combination of original documentary sources and analysis of Bethune’s life and work. The more than 70 documents, spanning 53 years of Bethune’s public life, include letters, memoranda,
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Teachers and others Notice!
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Mary McLeod Bethune was often called the “First Lady of Negro America,
” but she made significant contributions to the political climate of Florida as well. From the founding of the Daytona Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls in 1904, Bethune galvanized African American women for change. She created an environment in Daytona Beach that, despite racial tension throughout the state, allowed Jackie Robinson to begin his journey to integrating Major League Baseball less than two miles away from her school. Today, her legacy lives through a number of institutions, including Bethune-Cookman University and the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation National Historic Landmark. Historian Ashley Robertson explores the life, leadership and amazing contributions of this dynamic activist.
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Mary McLeod Bethune:
Education and Equality, profiles what life was like for this educator and civil rights activist. Students will develop their higher-order thinking skills and build vocabulary with this intriguing biography that is based on state standards. Implemented in the classroom or at home, this resource includes text features such as an index and glossary, and discusses different social studies topics. Bring the history of Florida to life through intriguing primary source documents!
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The Life and Legacy of Mary McLeod Bethune 2nd Edition
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Videos on Mary McLeod Bethune
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Biography from SC ETV 5:53
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Mary McLeod Bethune | Bethune-Cookman University
Come learn more about Mary McLeod Bethune, civil rights activist, educator, philanthropist, humanitarian, stateswoman, and so much more!
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Dee Dee Sharp celebration of Mary McLeod Bethune for Black History Month. Interview with Ersula Knox Odom.
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