Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955)Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune?Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.Slide 4Slide 5Slide 6Slide 7Slide 8Slide 9Slide 10Slide 11Slide 12Slide 13Slide 14Slide 15Slide 16Bethune’s Contribution to EducationBethune’s Philosophy of EducationSlide 19Mary McLeod Bethune QuotesMary McLeod Bethune Quotes Cont.Slide 22Resources on BethuneSlide 24Books on BethuneSlide 261Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955)Fall 2006EDCI 6582 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune?“If you are a woman reading this book, today you can aspire to any position in education you desire and reach your dream. This was not always so. Women in America, especially women of color, have Mary McLeod Bethune to thank you promoting the large entry of women in higher education in the 1900s who completed college degree programs and entered the professions of education, law, and government.”Murphy, 2006, p. 3363 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.Born on July 10, 1875 near Mayesville, South Carolina to former slaves Patsy and Samuel McLeodShe was the fifteen of their seventeen children, the first born in freedomShe worked in her family fields as a child4 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.There were no schools for blacks in Mayesville until one-room mission school opened when Mary was elevenShe walked five miles each day in order to attend that schoolShe returned to the fields after attending the mission school since there were nohigh schools for black children in her area5 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.Mary was granted a scholarship from Mary Chrissman, a Quaker dressmaker, to attend the Scotia Seminary in Concord, North Carolina, a racially mixed schoolMary attended the Seminary for six years and learned both academic and vocational, social skillsShe actively participated extracurricular activities such as chorus, baking, and debate6 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.She graduated from Scotia at the age of 20 and studied at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago with Dwight Moody, the only African American student among the 1000 studentsMary was an openly religious person with meditation and scripture reading everyday and spoke of a personal relationship with God through dreams7 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.She returned south to teach schools in Georgia where she met and married Albertus Bethune and had a son in 1899She was invited to be the director of a school in FloridaShe opened her own school, Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Negro Girls in 1904 with her savings of $1.50She had five student the first day sitting on the boxes in a rented house8 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.Albertus helped with the school and was one of the Board of Trustees until 1908 when he left for a better job in South Carolina and never returned to FloridaMary had to raise fund for her school and received support fro philanthropists such as James M. Gamble of Procter and GamberBy 1910, the school had 102 students; and 1920, 351 students9 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.The mission of Mary’s school: “uplift Negro girls spiritually, morally, intellectually, and industrially.”She opened McLeod Hospital after a girl in her school got ill and was refused to be treated in a white hospitalMary’s hospital also had a program that provides training to black girls in nursingThe mission of Mary’s nursing school is “go as far as your aspirations and talents can take you.”10 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.Daytona School merged with Cookman Institute for Men in 1923 and became the four-year, co-educational Behune-Cookman College, the first fully accredited four-year college for blacks in FloridaMary served as president of the school until 194211 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.She was also a national leader and served as the president of the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools (1923) and the National Assocation of Colored Women from (1924-1928)Bethune was the only black woman invited to a luncheon hosted by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1927 and sat beside Sara Roosevelt12 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.She toured nine European countries in 1927 and had an audience with Pope Pius XIShe received the Joel E. Springarn Medal from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 193513 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.Franklin D. Roosevelt invited her to become a member of the National Youth Administration advisory board Division of Negro Affairs and the director of the Office of Minority Affairs of the NYAHer four passions---race, women, education, and youth, were all put on national agenda by FDRShe was the most highly paid African American women in the government14 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.In 1945, President Harry Truman appointed her to his Civil Rights Commission Together with W. E. B. DuBios and Walter White, she was invited to SF to draw up a charter for the UNShe received numerous awards and eight honorary degrees during her life15 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.With the help of Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary began the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation to promote her ideas about black educational advancement, interracial cooperation, and service to young peopleShe was considered the female counterpart of W. E. B. DuBoisBefore she died, she saw the landmark Brown vs. Education in Topeka case16 Who Is Mary McLeod Bethune Cont.SummaryLittle formal educationA teacher, a college presidentFounder of an elementary school, which became a high school then collegeGovernment official on educational committeesA great oratorA national monument in DCSchools, streets named after herOne of the fifty greatest American women17 Bethune’s Contribution to EducationRole model for black women: more black women received B. A. degrees from black colleges than black men by the 1940sFund raiser for black educationEstablished various training programs for black librarians, pilots, and teachers to teach in the southern rural areas18 Bethune’s Philosophy of EducationShe felt women needed a “distinctive education” different from that of men so they could take their place in transforming societyShe provided her girls with a classical education in sciences, mathematics, literature, and foreign languagesShe also combined academic training with vocational training that help women become professional teachers, nurses, librarians, and social workers, which made them
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