Mary Mcleod Bethune: Educator, Civil Rights Activist

At the height of the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968), women played a big part in not only keeping the crusade alive, but also played a big part in energizing the masses to continue the long and arduous struggle against the seemingly impenetrable institutions of power which disenfranchised African-Americans and regarded their humanity as nothing more than mere pieces of property owned by others. Women like Coretta Scott King, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, Septima Clark and countless mothers, sisters, and daughters proved to be important

Mrs.Chisholm displayed the characteristics of a true Visionary Leader by creating a vision of diversity. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education [BCEE] (2016) defines “Diversity”, as personal life experiences, geographic background, socioeconomic background, cultural knowledge, educational background, work background, language abilities, physical abilities, philosophical/spiritual perspectives, age, race, ethnicity, and gender. In 1968, she achieved and promoted diversity by becoming the first African American woman elected to the United

African American women have long been stereotyped, discriminated against and generalized in this country. They have had to face both being black in America while also being a woman in America. African American women encountered and still do encounter double discrimination of both sex and race (Cuthbert, 117). Women like Elise Johnson McDougald, Marion Vera Cuthbert and Alice Dunbar-Nelson all tried to shed light on what it was like to be an African American woman living in the 20th century yet literature often portrayed them as emotional, hypersexual, unintelligent and of lesser worth. The literature highlighted that African American women have to serve both their employer and their husbands and families. They are not supposed to have an opinion or stand up for themselves, especially to a white man. ***Concluding sentence?

Angela Davis is one of the most influential women when it comes to feminism, race, politics, to just name a few. She has paved the way for many generations of women to have a voice when they once wouldn’t. It is essential to realize that one can’t discuss feminism and black power without discussing Angela Davis. The reason I chose Angela Davis is because she is a household name that I have always heard, but had never known much of. I think it’s deeply important to understand the impact she’s had on the feminist movement, specifically for women of color.

To be a woman meant that one had no say in regards to political affairs or in government making decisions. If being a woman had limitations, imagine what a black woman experienced, as they were considered less than human and mistreated more than any other female from any different background. In “A Plea for the Oppressed”, Lucy Stanton, one such black woman, tried to avail her people’s plight upon an audience of white women, to support the antislavery and reform cause.

     Mary McLeod Bethune was an innovative leader because she took a story which was largely latent in the population, equal education rights for black children, and brought it to national prominence through the creation of the Bethune-Cookman college. She was also a visionary leader because of the incredible success she was able to attain in advancing the cause of equal education.

Sojourner Truth once remarked, in reply to an allusion to the late Horace Greeley, "You call him a self-made man; well, I am a self-made woman” (Gilbert, v). This quote digs deeper into the leadership of what Sojourner Truth’s journey was all about. Truth’s greatest commitments for women’s suffrage stood alongside of her remark to Greely. No woman was just to be a housewife or slave to her own family, but to be able to enjoy the world as man did. Sojourner Truth was an important figure in American History because she helped create a pathway for the ideas of feminism and the justices of racial equality.

Mary Dudziak, author of Cold Rights Civil War, showed how the civil rights movement effected American foreign affairs on an international level. She argued that the international ridicule helped the United States and the Civil Rights movements achieve what it did. She helps explain just how important the Cold War was to the Civil Rights movement and how the Civil Rights movement helped, America refreshes its image in the eyes for the world. However, not just lead and paly a major part in the Civil Rights movement but also reform America. She also argues that the Cold War and anti-American propaganda push America to up-hold civil rights and equality because of all the backlash and animosity from other countries. There are many things I like about this book for example the way she showed the views of America from other countries and the way she talked about democracy. However, one thing I did not like about the book was that she really did not go into much detail about Brown vs. The Board of Education and The Civil Rights act.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary was one of the most influential African-American, female leaders during the Antebellum era. As an advocate for equality and integration, Cary contributed an immense amount of effort towards establishing the foundation of black livelihood. Though labeled inferior on the basis of ethnicity and gender, she was a fierce, headstrong, successful activist in a political world dominated by white males. This essay will analyze Cary’s approach to solidifying African American safety and nationalism during the 19th century.

Glenda Gilmore, in her essay “Forging Interracial Links in the Jim Crow South,” attempts to tackle the charged concepts of feminism and race relations during the infamous Jim Crow era. Her analysis focuses on both the life and character of a black woman named Charlotte Hawkins Brown, a highly influential member of the community of Greensboro, North Carolina. Brown defied the odds given her gender and race and rose to a prominent place in society through carefully calculated interracial relations. Gilmore argues that in rising above what was expected of her as a black woman, Brown was forced to diminish her own struggles as a black woman, and act to placate

I learned how Ida B. Wells-Barnett started her life. Born as a slave, orphaned at 16, she became a teacher to support her surviving brothers and sisters. With the difficult circumstances brought upon her, it took an amazing amount of determination for her to fight for black civil rights and women’s rights in the 19th century. In a more civilized age, it’s harder to witness the courage she represented for the disadvantaged.

Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune is the founder of the Daytona Normal and Industrial institute in 1094, then later became Bethune-Cookman College. Mary was born on July 10, 1875, In Mayesville, South Carolina. She grew up in poverty, everyone in her family worked in fields picking cotton. Out of 17 children Bethune was the only one that went to school. There was a missionary school that opened nearby for African-American children. She would walk to school every day, traveling miles away from her home. When she comes back to school she would share her knowledge with the rest of her family.

Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune has paved the way for african-american adolescents, like myself, to live a life of greater quality. Being born of slaves, no one imagined that her values would manifest into a prestigious Historically Black College/University. From toiling in fields with her family, to becoming the president of an accredited college was a huge accomplishment for blacks at the time. Mary Bethune’s prosperity didn’t conclude with the commencement of her own distinguished university, but she became a national leader. The National Association of Colored Women became popularized for advocating the enhancement of colored women in society. In this organization, Bethune served as Florida chapter president from 1917 to 1925. Her duties included:

In history, women have always struggled to gain equality, respect, and the same rights as men. Women had had to endure years of sexism and struggle to get to where we are today. The struggle was even more difficult for women of color because not only were they dealing with issues of sexism, but also racism. Many movements have helped black women during the past centuries to overcome sexism, racism, and adversities that were set against them. History tells us that movements such as the Feminist Movement helped empower all women, but this fact is not totally true. In this paper, I will discuss feminism, the movements, and its "minimal" affects on black women.

Society continues to nurture these depriving situations and demonstrate lack of concern towards black women by not celebrating them for the roles they played in the movements. Taylor (1998) asserted that, “despite the fact that the most celebrated leaders of the modern civil rights movements were men, African American women participated at every stage in the struggle for justice and equality” (239). Although black women were not in public eyes during these movements, it was their vision and organizing roles they played that helped in the progression of many liberation movements.