Mary McLeod Bethune

(1875-1955)

Warriors Fight, Her Enemy, Social Injustice 

                On July 10, 1875 in Mayesville, South Carolina, an educator, humanitarian, stateswoman, civil rights activist, and most importantly a warrior was born! Born to slave parents and being one of 17 children, growing up in poverty,  Mary McLeod Bethune did not allow for her family's economic status or struggles to define the woman that she wanted to become. When a missionary created a school nearby for African American children,  Bethune was the only child out of her whole family to wake up every morning and walk several miles on her own to attend the school. Education, a human right that was not a concern to many at this time was Bethune's main focus and she took advantage of every opportunity that came her way. Every evening when she returned home, Bethune would make it her duty to educate her family and those around her on what she was learning in school, making her a leading educator at such a young age. Bethune studied at Moody Bible School in Chicago where she completed her studies and returned to the South to become a teacher. Growing up without much and given the circumstances at the time, did nothing but encourage Bethune to strive harder to reach every last one of her goals and defy society's expectations of an African American woman at the time.

Bethune and some of her students. (Source is below.)

A Warrior's Work

     Battling injustices every single day, Bethune strongly believed that education was the primary key to racial advancement. Bethune founded Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Daytona, Florida in 1904. A school that only started out with 5 students, Bethune did whatever she could to educate and recruit female children of color in order to receive the education they were deprived of and was able to get over 250 students in a short period of time. Bethune's school today is known as Bethune Cookman University, a historically black university (HBCU) where women, men, colored or not proudly attend (Many of my friends go here so I am able to live this experience through them!). 

The National Council of Negro Women Inc. Bloomsburg University Chapter.

    Creating her own school is only one of the many accomplishments Mary McLeod Bethune has made in her life that defines her as a warrior. Bethune wanted to contribute to American society as a whole and becoming a political and social activist was her calling. Bethune founded a national civil rights organization, the National Council of Negro Women  Inc. in which I am a proud member of and serve as the vice president of the chapter here at Bloomsburg University! Bethune did not stop there, she knew there was so much more she could do and others realized this as well. Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin D. Roosevelt all have had the proud honor of utilizing the service and the mind Bethune. Some of the empowering positions she held from the government are special advisor on minority affairs, director of the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration, and adviser of the Roosevelt Administration. 

A woman who could have let society define her character and position in that very society due to her race, gender, and socioeconomic status, was able to not only successfully defy society's expectations but she made history and in doing that, changed the lives of many. A warrior exudes bravery, confidence, strength and perseverance, all traits in which Mary McLeod Bethune has proved throughout her entire life. 

https://www.biography.com/activist/mary-mcleod-bethune

https://www.womenshistory.org/articles/education-young-black-girls

https://aaregistry.org/story/civil-rights-pioneer-mary-mcleod-bethune/