Remarkable Woman – Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955)

I am reading the book "The First Ladies" by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. Even though this book is fiction, it is based on the friendship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist and educator Mary McLeod Bethune.

Mary, born 15th of 17 siblings, picked cotton to help support her family. At 10 years old she was offered a spot in a local missionary school and became the first in her family to learn to read. She developed a passion for education and founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in 1904 which merged with the Cookman Institute for Men and became Bethune-Cookman College in  1923.  Discovering  the

need for a hospital for black citizens, she opened McLeod Hospital where nurses received hands-on training in Daytona, Florida. She went on to be elected president of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs in 1924 and founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935 and remained president until 1949. Mary was also vice president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1940 to 1955.

Mary's friendship with Eleanor began in 1927 when at a leadership meeting of the country's most influential women's organizations, the all-white attendees refused to sit with Mrs. Bethune, the national president of the National Association of Colored Women. An alliance forged between the two women

over the importance of education and civil and human rights. This mutual admiration and personal friendship afforded her an audience with the president resulting in a major role in organizing the Federal Council on Negro Affairs. She became a cherished advisor and the only black woman in the president's inner circle.

Mary McLeod Bethune resonates with me because

of her bravery and unbridled passion to make a difference at a time when it was the most dangerous. I also think that there is a lesson in her life as she was not shy to forge alliances with white people willing to help her in her mission. Progress involves all people working together.

Deborah Fischer

NFBPWC Legacy Fund Chair

2024-2026