On July 10, 1875, Mary McLeod was born number fifteen into a family of seventeen children. Her parents were former slaves; the whole family worked the cotton fields on the family farm. At age 11, she entered into Mayesville (SC) Presbyterian mission school and then later on went to Scotia Seminary and Moody Bible Institute. After graduation, she wished to become a missionary to Africa; however, she chose to become a teacher. It was at this point, as an instructor at Kindell Institute that she met her husband, Albertus Bethune.

In 1904, McLeod Bethune helped develop a school solely for the betterment of young African-American women: The Daytona Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls. It is now better known as the Bethune Cookman College. During this early time, she was a teacher, administrator, comptroller and the custodian. She was everything in one to her pupils. She also organized classes for the nearby children of turpentine workers, therefore, easing her desire to serve as a missionary. During this time she was a leader in the black women’s club movement, served as president of the National Association of Colored women, and was a delegate and advisor to national conferences on education, child welfare and home ownership.

Bethune gained national notice in 1936 when she was appointed as an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt as director of African American Affairs with the National Youth Administration and a special advisor on minority affairs. During this time she was a leader in the black women’s club movement, served as president of the National Association of Colored women, and was a delegate and advisor to national conferences on education, child welfare and home ownership. As a consultant to the U.S. Secretary of War, Bethune also sat on the committee for selection of first female officer candidates. Later on she was appointed the vice-president of NAACP and awarded the Haitian Medal of Honor and Merit and the Commander of the Order of the Star in Africa.

"I leave you love, I leave you hope. I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. I leave you respect for the use of power. I leave you faith. I leave you racial dignity." - Mary McLeod Bethune

Submitted by: Lisa Leibrand