DESPITE SNUBS AND INSULTS BECAUSE OF HER EXTREMELY
DARK-SKIN, MARY MCLEOD (MEH-KLOWD) BETHUNE
(BEH-THOON) BECAME A NATIONAL EDUCATOR, CIVIL AND
WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST AND ADVISOR TO U-S PRESIDENT
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT.
MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE WAS BORN IN MAYESVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA ON JULY 10TH, 1875 TO SAMUEL AND PATSY MCLEOD -- TWO FORMER BLACK SLAVES WHO WERE LIBERATED BY THE CIVIL WAR. SHE WAS ONE OF SEVENTEEN CHILDREN. AS A YOUNG GIRL, MARY WORKED IN RICE AND COTTON FIELDS DESPITE HER DESIRE TO ATTEND SCHOOL.
WHEN A MISSIONARY SCHOOL THAT ACCEPTED BLACK CHILDREN OPENED IN HER NEIGHBORHOOD, SHE WALKED EIGHT KILOMETERS TO GET THERE. AT THE END OF THE DAY, SHE WENT HOME AND TAUGHT HER FAMILY MEMBERS WHATEVER SHE LEARNED. LATER, SHE WON A PRIVATE SCHOLARSHIP TO A MISSIONARY SCHOOL IN NORTH CAROLINA.
MARY BETHUNE WANTED TO BE A MISSIONARY HERSELF BUT SCHOOL OFFICIALS INSTEAD OFFERED HER A TEACHING SCHOLARSHIP IN CHICAGO. AFTER TEACHING IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA FOR SOME TIME, SHE TRANSFERRED TO DAYTONA, FLORIDA.
IT WAS IN DAYTONA THAT SHE OPENED A COLLEGE TO EDUCATE POOR, BLACK WOMEN. WITH A DOLLAR AND FIFTY CENTS, SHE PURCHASED LAND THAT NO ONE ELSE WANTED AND USED BORROWED MATERIALS AND VOLUNTEER LABOR TO BUILD THE DAYTONA NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE. SHE IS QUOTED AS SAYING: "I WROTE ARTICLES FOR WHOEVER WOULD PRINT THEM, DISTRIBUTED LEAFLETS, RODE MANY MILES OF DUSTY ROADS ON MY OLD BICYCLE: INVADED CHURCHES, CLUBS AND LODGES AND CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE (TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE SCHOOL)."
THERE WERE ONLY FIVE GIRLS WHO ATTENDED THE SCHOOL, AT FIRST, AND MARY WORKED ALONG WITH THEM AND THE OTHER TEACHERS ON A FARM WHERE THEY RAISED MELONS, PUMPKINS, TOMATOES, PEAS AND OTHER FOODS TO SUBSIDIZE THE COST OF THE COLLEGE.
IN TIME, MARY BETHUNE'S INSTITUTE MERGED WITH COOKMAN COLLEGE, AN ALL BLACK-MALE FACILITY AND IT BECAME THE BETHUNE-COOKMAN COLLEGE, WHICH STILL EXISTS AND HAS APPROXIMATELY 24 HUNDRED STUDENTS TODAY.
AS THE FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF THE WOMEN'S SCHOOL, MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE TRAVELED NORTH (FROM FLORIDA) TO MEET WEALTHY CONTRIBUTORS. THE DAYTONA AREA WAS A POPULAR TOURIST ATTRACTION, AND MRS. BETHUNE SOLICITED DONATIONS FROM A CORE OF THE WHITE POPULATION THAT WILLINGLY ASSISTED LIBERAL CAUSES. WITH THESE CONTACTS, SHE BUILT ALLIANCES WITH INFLUENTIAL WHITE AND BLACK AMERICANS THAT DREW HER TO A LIFE OF ACTIVISM.
IN 1935, MARY BETHUNE BECAME AN ADVISOR TO THE NATIONAL YOUTH ADMINISTRATION, A FEDERAL AGENCY DESIGNED TO PROVIDE YOUNG PEOPLE WITH VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND PLACEMENT IN THE VITAL DEFENSE INDUSTRIES. A FEW YEARS LATER, SHE BECAME DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF NEGRO AFFAIRS. AT THIS POINT, SHE HELD THE HIGHEST POSITION IN THE U-S GOVERNMENT EVER ATTAINED BY A BLACK WOMAN.
ALSO IN 1935, MARY BETHUNE FOUNDED AND BECAME PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN, A GROUP SHE HEADED UNTIL 1949. THE 10-THOUSAND MEMBER ORGANIZATION GAVE BLACK WOMEN AN ACTIVIST ROLE IN PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES, BOTH NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY.
BY 1941, MRS. BETHUNE WAS ADVISING A SPECIAL COMMITTEE WITHIN THE U-S DEFENSE DEPARTMENT ON MATTERS RELATED TO WOMEN OF BOTH RACES. IT WAS THEN THAT THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN WAS ADMITTED INTO THE WHITE-CONTROLLED NATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN. WITH THIS ADMISSION CAME A RECOGNITION THAT MARY BETHUNE'S ORGANIZATION HAD BECOME A LEADING VOICE ON ISSUES RELATED TO BLACK WOMEN.
IN THE EARLY 1940'S, MRS. BETHUNE WAS ROUTINELY ADVISING U.S. PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT ON RACIAL ISSUES AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS.
IN THE EARLY 1950'S, A RETIRED MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE TRANSFORMED HER HOME INTO A PRIVATE FOUNDATION TO PRESERVE AND PROMOTE HER IDEALS. SHE DIED AT THE AGE OF EIGHTY, AFTER SPENDING A LIFETIME DEVOTED TO IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR BLACKS AND FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN.
03-Feb-97
Source: Voice of America
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