Bethune, Mary McLeod (1875–1955)

Mary McLeod Bethune, an African American educator and proponent of social reform, lived a life of service that included strong educational initiatives and efforts to bring about social change. She was the 15th of 17 children born to Samuel and Patsy McLeod. Bethune was schooled at Maysville Presbyterian Mission School, Scotia Seminary, and graduated from Moody Bible Institute with aspirations to become a missionary in Africa. Thwarted in this attempt, she did her first teaching at the Presbyterian Mission School. Bethune then taught for a year at the Haines Institute in Augusta, Georgia, in 1896 and finally at the Kindell Institute in Sumter, South Carolina, in 1897, where she met and later married Albertus Bethune.

In 1904, at a time when most African American children received little formal education, Mary McLeod Bethune founded a school exclusively for “Negro” girls. She served as president of the school from its inception through 1942 and then again from 1946 to 1947. Known originally as the Daytona Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls, it also is cited as the Daytona Normal and Industrial School for Negro Girls. After renting a building in Daytona Beach, Florida, begging for discarded materials, and crafting seats for the students, she was able to welcome five girls to the school. She had no equipment and used charcoal in place of pencils and crushed elderberries to create ink. Bethune filled all jobs in the beginning—teacher, administrator, and custodian. She managed, over time, to gather together a staff that worked with her through the years to maintain the [Page 96]school. In the beginning years, she and her pupils baked pies and made ice cream to sell to workers at nearby construction sites. She expanded her education services by organizing classes for children of turpentine workers. Adequate financial support was difficult, and in 1912 she sought support from outside agencies. James M. Gamble of the Procter and Gamble Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, contributed financially to the school and served as chairman of the board of trustees.

The Daytona Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls merged with a boys' school, the Cookman Institute of Jacksonville, Florida, in 1923, and the newly combined school became coeducational and known as Bethune–Cookman Collegiate Institute. It was renamed Bethune–Cookman College and Mary McLeod Bethune retired as president emeritus in 1942. She was a trustee until she died. By 1955, the college had an enrollment of over 1,000 students and a faculty of 100.

Her accomplishments in education, however, extended beyond the growth and development of the Daytona school. Throughout her lifetime, Bethune was a delegate and advisor to national conferences on education, child welfare, and homeown-ership. Her business activities included serving as president of the Central Life Insurance Company of Tampa, Florida; director of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company of Jacksonville; and founder in 1940 of the Bethune-Volusia Beach Corporation, a recreation area and housing development.

In addition to her educational and business activities, Bethune was an agent of social change by virtue of the important positions she held. For example, she served as president of the National Association of Colored Women and was appointed consultant on interracial affairs and understanding at the charter conference of the United Nations. As founder of the National Council of Negro Women in 1932, Bethune continued her quest to advance the cause of African American females; she was its president and by 1955, the organization had a membership of 800,000. She also served as vice president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1936, appointed her director of African American affairs in the National Youth Administration, where she served national interests until 1944. Her work included supervision of the expansion of employment and recreation for youth throughout the United States. Furthermore, Mary McLeod Bethune was a consultant to the U.S. Secretary of War for selection of the first female officer candidates. In her later years, she enjoyed international recognition. In 1949, she was awarded the Haitian Medal of Honor and Merit, that country's highest award. In Liberia she received the honor of Commander of the Order of the Star of Africa.

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