Who was Mary McLeod Bethune?

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Who was Mary McLeod Bethune?​

Mary McLeod Bethune was a prominent educator, political leader, and social visionary whose early twentieth century activism for black women and civil rights laid the foundation for the modern civil rights era.
Who is Mary Jane McLeod McLeod?
Mary Jane McLeod was born on July 10, 1875, the fifteenth of seventeen children of Samuel and Patsy McIntosh McLeod, former slaves in Maysville, South Carolina. As a child, she quickly discovered the value of education.

Where did Mary Bethune go to college?​

Shortly after her graduation in 1886, Bethune continued her education on a scholarship at the Scotia Seminary for Girls (now Barber-Scotia College) in Concord, North Carolina. Upon graduation in 1894, Bethune initially planned to become a Christian missionary in Africa.
How did Mary Bethune change the world?
Inspired by leaders such as Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Josephine St. Pierre-Ruffin, Bethune mobilized African American women’s organizations to challenge racial injustice and demand first class citizenship.

Mary McLeod Bethune’s dream of establishing a school of her own finally became real when she opened the doors of Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Girls in 1904 with five students.
She married fellow teacher Albertus Bethune in 1898. The couple had one son together — Albert Mcleod Bethune — before ending their marriage in 1907. She believed that education provided the key to racial advancement. To that end, Bethune founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Daytona, Florida, in 1904.
When did Mary Bethune die?
Eventually returning to Florida in her retirement, Bethune died on May 18, 1955, in Daytona, Florida. She is remembered for her work to advance the rights of both African Americans and women.

Where did Bethune D’Amelio start her school?​

Bethune always wished to start her own school, though, and she moved with her husband from South Carolina to Daytona Beach in 1904. In the early 1900s, Daytona Beach was a small town in rural Florida. It was also segregated.