Windswept House-Mary Jane McLeod Bethune, (born McLeod) (July 10, 1875 – May 18, 1955) was an American educator and civil rights leader best known for starting a private school for African-American students in Daytona Beach, Florida. She attracted donations of time and money, and developed the academic school as a college. It later continued to develop as Bethune-Cookman University. She also was appointed as a national adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was known as The First Lady of The Struggle” because of her commitment to bettering African Americans. Born in Mayesville, South Carolina, to parents who had been slaves, she started working in fields at age five. She took an early interest in becoming educated; with the help of benefactors, Bethune attended college hoping to become a missionary in Africa. She started a school for African-American girls in Daytona Beach, Florida. It later merged with a private institute for African-American boys, and was known as the Bethune-Cookman School. Bethune maintained high standards and promoted the school with tourists and donors, to demonstrate what educated African Americans could do. She was president of the college from 1923 to 1942, and 1946 to 1947. She was one of the few women in the world to serve as a college president at that time. The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) was founded on December 5, 1935, with the support of the leaders of 28 of the most notable black womens organizations. The founder and president until 1949, Mary McLeod Bethune, envisioned a unified force of black womens groups fighting to improve racial conditions nationally and internationally. Courtesy of blackpast.org & Wikipedia, Love History? Please Share and do give our page a LIkE. Thank you. ;)
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 23:50:56 +0000
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