Mary Mcleod Bethune Short Biography

Alice Malsenior Walker, an African American born into poverty, came into this world on February 9, 1944 in Eatonon, Georgia. She was the youngest child of eight children born to Willie Lee and Minnie Tallulah Walkers. Both of her parents were sharecroppers as well as expert story tellers. Things were not easy for the Walkers and Alice often witnessed her mother’s frustration of having the burden to take care of eight children with little means. Even though children of share croppers were usually made to work the fields, Alice’s mother made sure that her kids received an education. Alice was brilliant at writing poetry.

     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.

In Various parts of the country, certain statutory provisions and public policy prohibited the education for African Americans. In 1837, in the Cheyney, Pennsylvania, first higher education institution was established to educate African Americans. After this two other black institutions founded; one was Lincoln University, in Pennsylvania in the year 1854 and another was Wilberforce University, in Ohio in the year 1856. The Mission of those institutions was to provide education for African American students who had not any previous education in the level of secondary and elementary schools.(HBCUs and Higher Education Desegregation, March

Madam C. J. Walker was born on December 23rd, 1867 as Sarah Breedlove, to Owen and Minerva Breedlove, who were former slaves enslaved to Robert W. Burney’s Madison Parish. She was the first of child born into freedom among her five siblings, after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Her siblings included one older sister, Louvenia and four brethren: James, Solomon, Owen Jr. and Alexander. At six years of age, her mother passed away probably

Sarah E. Goode was born into slavery by her mom and dad. Her father ,Oliver Jacobs, was a carpenter. Her mother was

Susie Baker was born under the slave law in Georgia, in 1848. She was raised by her grandmother in Savannah, Georgia. It was Susie’s grandmother that ensured she learned to read and write. Susie was sent discretely to study with a friend of the family, and tutors were sought out wherever they could be found. Discretion was necessary because some southern

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.

Mary Chesnut was the author of a popular book known as the “Civil War Diary.” This well-known book painted a vivid picture of her thoughts on the things going on around her pertaining to the war. She was one of the most respected ladies of Charleston, S.C with an insightful view of Southern life and leadership during the American Civil War. In 1840 she married James Chesnut, Jr., who later served as a U.S. senator from South Carolina until he resigned. Chesnut writings were from things she personally experienced, witnessed and saw during this historic time, along with her husband who she joined along the way of many significant sites they encountered, being that he played an important role in the secession movement and the Confederacy. Despite

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:

When Belle reached the age of twelve her parents decided it was time for her to get a formal education. In 1856 she was sent to Baltimore to attend the Mount Washington Female College that was directed by Reverend George Lewis Staley, D.D. She completed four years at the college which

1. 140 years ago, in Maysville, South Carolina, Mary McLeod, a child of former slaves was born. Coming up from very simple beginnings, would later in life become a renowned educator and college founder, an advocate, for civil and human rights, and a valued advisor to several United States presidents? As a young girl toiling in the fields alongside of her parents, Ms. McLeod knew that education and knowledge would eventually open her eyes to the world outside of South Carolina. At the tender age of 10, Ms. McLeod, began her educational journey by entering Trinity Presbyterian Mission School, followed by Scotia Seminary in North Carolina, and Moody Bible Institute, in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. McLeod, at first wanted

In 1904, black children in Daytona, Florida received no education, but instead labored tirelessly in the cotton fields. On October 3, with $1.50, and faith in God, the very determined young Mary McLeod opened the Daytona Literary

In 1863, Susie traveled with her husband’s regiment. She became the first black nurse during the Civil War, and helped to care for wounded soldiers. During her off hours she taught the soldiers how to read and write, and also cooked and laundered for them. She wrote in her diary about the nursing shortages during the war, and was happy to provide nursing care to the sick soldiers. She continued to serve as a nurse until the war ended in 1865. (MacLean, 2007).

Gradually, the Quakers started to rigorously promote education programs and played an important role in raising the literacy rates among back Northern blacks and raised funds to establish schools in the South, educating hundreds of blacks. Hugh Barbour and J. William Frost provide statistics in their book, The Quakers, stating that, in 1866, Quakers were able to open nine new schools in Columbus, Mississippi and later expanded to Macon, Mississippi (198). Emily Howland was an abolitionist, educator, and a suffragist born into a family of Quakers in Sherwood, New York, in 1827. Her parents, Slocum and Hannah Howland, played prominent roles in the Society of Friends. Following in their footsteps, she played an active role in trying to abolish slave and became a teacher in a school for colored girls from 1857 to 1859. In 1864, she worked in a large camp, educating the freed slaves in Arlington, Washington. She taught them to read and write and, lin 1867, went on to open an African American in Heathsville, Virginia. Throughout her life, she promoted education for women and freed blacks.

Bethune did a lot on her own with her management responsibilities, educating people, cleaning schools, and handling money. She explored garbage dumps for items that the school could recycle and use, such as old furniture and pieces of wood. She was capable to secure a staff, several of who worked respectfully for her for many years. To assist pay for enlargement of the school, Bethune and her students baked pies and made ice cream to sell to close construction workers. Additionally, Bethune arranged for her regular classes, of turpentine workers. These are the ways she satisfied her passion to serve as a missionary.