Mary McLeod Bethune

Mary McLeod Bethune (or Mary Jane McLeod Bethune; July 10, 1875 - May 18, 1955) was a black educator and civil and women's rights leader. 

The daughter of former slaves, Bethune believed that education was the key to racial advancement. She served as the president of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs  and was the founder of the National Council of [Black] Women. She also founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for [Black] Girls, which later became Bethune-Cookman College. At Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for [Black] Girls, she became the first African American woman to serve as a college president. She was a key organizer for the Federal Council on [Black] Affairs, which was an advisory board to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1945, she was the only African American women to present at the opening of the United Nations, and won the Medal of Honor and Merit at the Haitian Exposition. She merged 28 different organizations to help improve the lives of women and their children, and through her organizations she helped African American women into military roles through the Women's Army Corps during World War II.

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Category:1875 births
Category:1955 deaths
Category:Educators from South Carolina
Category:American civil rights activists
Category:American philanthropists
Category:University and college founders