Mary McLeod Bethune
1875 – 1955 American educator, civil rights leader
American educator who built a college for Black students and advised the federal government on youth.
- Religion
- Methodist.
- Affiliations
- Founded what became Bethune-Cookman University; adviser to Franklin Roosevelt.
Mary McLeod Bethune, born to formerly enslaved parents, founded a school for Black girls in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1904 that grew into Bethune-Cookman University. She led national organizations for Black women and advised President Franklin Roosevelt on the education of Black youth. She was a leading advocate for equal access to education and civil rights.
Connections
- associate of W. E. B. Du Bois — Allied in the cause of Black education.
- associate of W. E. B. Du Bois — Allied in the movement for Black education and civil rights.