How Did Mary Mcleod Bethune Contribute To Education

Mary McLeod Bethune is a great example of someone who through determination and hard work overcame many barriers. Dr. Bethune was born in July 10th, 1875 to former slaves in Mayesville, South Carolina. She was the 15th of seventeen children. Although her parents and her two eldest siblings were born slaves she was born free, yet still faced many challenges. During that time period, when slavery had just ended and segregation began, it was very hard being an African-American, let alone an African-American woman. Yet she accomplished so much, being the one and only of her sixteen siblings to attend school. Dr. Bethune figured out early that the education of other African-Americans was her calling. Believing that education was the key to racial

Since Dr. Bethune was her parents’ only child to attend school, she always came home sharing all her newfound knowledge with her family. She once said “Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it might be a diamond in the rough.” I believe by this she meant without taking the time to invest knowledge and understanding in a person you will never find out the potential they truly hold. Upon graduating from college, she became a teacher; education was whole-heartedly her passion and love. Dr. Bethune took advantage of every opportunity there was to help spiritually guide and educate fellow African-Americans. The construction of the Florida East Coast Railroad in 1904 brought hundreds of African-Americans looking for work. That provoked the idea for Dr. Bethune to establish a school for African-American girls. In October

Bethune work at schools, she also became very involved in government service and did much to contribute the American society as a whole. She worked alongside U.S. presidents; Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. While working with those presidents she was invited to participate in a conference concerning child welfare, served on the commissions for Homebuilding and Homeownership, served on President Truman’s Committee of Twelve for National Defense, and was appointed to lead U.S. delegation to Liberia. Dr. Bethune became a trusted friend and advisor to President Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor Roosevelt. She also started up her own civil rights organization, the National Council of Negro Women. Dr. Bethune’s motivation for starting the council was to mainly to represent numerous groups working on critical problems faced by African-American women. She also played part in increasing public awareness of voter discrimination, segregation on interstate trains and buses, and the lynching of African-Americans. By her activism the modern Civil Rights Movement was partially inspired. Dr. Bethune indulged in other organizations such as the Central Life Insurance Company of Tampa and the Afro-American Life Insurance Company of Jacksonville. While achieving all those things she still resided as president of Bethune Cookman College until retiring in