BlackHistoryFacts | Mary McLeod Bethune

Black history fact # 6

Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) was an American educator, advisor to five US presidents, and civil rights activist best known for starting a private school for black students in Daytona Beach, Florida. In 1904, she founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Negro Girls, which later merged with the Cookman Institute to become Bethune-Cookman College. In 2007, the school became Bethune Cookman University. Mary McLeod was also a national leader on issues related to civil rights, education, women, and young people, as president of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs and the founder of the National Council of Negro Women. She received several national commissions, including the Coolidge Administration's Child Welfare Conference, and the Hoover Administration's National Commission on Child Welfare and Commission on Home Building and Home Ownership, and served as advisor on minority affairs under Roosevelt Administration.

Thanks Mary McLeod Bethune for working tirelessly for our betterment!