In the late 1800’s and into the 20th century, there were massive radical changes taking place in America, especially for black Americans who were experiencing monumental advances with relation to their place in society, as Hanson (2003) explains. Hanson (2003) continues to explain that it was the end of the Civil war with the North as the victor, and black slaves were no longer slaves but rather free men. Although they were considered equal, they were expected to remain separate from the white society. This concept is hard to fathom and accept in the present day as anything close to justified or remotely correct, but a century ago these were big steps in society. Blacks being born were no longer slaves, even though their parents had been, and for many even their older siblings. As time went on, so did the fight for equal rights and small progressions were made within American society with the help of some determined people.
Mary McLeod Bethune grew up during a time period that changed American history, during the separate but equal time period. Bethune was the 15th of 17 children, however, the first to not be born into slavery. The year was 1875; the place Mayesville, South Carolina and Mary McLeod was born into a typical family setting for blacks after the civil war, sharecroppers that were poor and illiterate. Hanson (2003) explains how Bethune was born in the transitional stages of blacks beginning to receive some rights; she did not have an idea why former blacks had fled the South to the North.
Sterne (1957) explains when and how Bethune had an experience that reinforced that blacks were not accepted as equals when she expressed interest in learning letters, touching a book and questioning how to read. Bethune had gone to help her mother by returning washed laundry to the Wilson home, which Bethune was very excited to do, asking her questions the entire walk to the Wilson’s. The Wilson girls were in the backyard playing, Bethune joined in but was distracted by a book lying open and pursued her curiosity by asking which letter an A was. Immediately, the book was slammed shut on her and was told that because she was black she was never to read, seeing as reading was only for whites. Bethune was only about six or seven at this point in time and this experience startled her and confused her quite a bit. The entire way home, Bethune asked her mother why she was yelled at for touching a book, questioning such a simple thing. Sadly, Bethune’s mother did not have an answer for her.
According to Sterne (1957) illiteracy among blacks was 90 percent throughout the country, however, in Mary McLeod Bethune’s town the illiteracy rate was 100 percent among the black population. Bethune’s mother had given up on trying to learn to read the Bible and now Bethune was asking her mother something she could not give an answer to. Bethune’s older brothers and sisters had grown up expecting to never receive an education, but things were different to Bethune because she was born outside of slavery and did not fully understand that there was a difference between blacks and whites even though they were “equal”, just separate. Sterne (1957) expresses the anger that stirred up inside of Bethune soon after when she was picking cotton and noticed the contrast between the white cotton balls and her black fingers. She was determined that blacks could hold a book, and that somewhere outside of Mayesville there was a black that could read.
Bethune’s opportunity came when she was eleven years old and was invited to attend a school for the colored. According to Sterne (1957) Bethune was exuberant to attend until she realized how important she was in helping the family to bring in hundreds of pounds of cotton a day. She discussed the opportunity of attending school and explained how important it was to her to be first in the Bethune family. At first her parents were hesitant, until Granny Bethune chimed in her thoughts on the matter. She simply stated that “Mary was a child of freedom, strong and determined, and if she was to learn to read she could come home and read the Bible to the rest of the family” (Sterne, 1957, p. 45). Bethune would walk three miles one way to attend her school but this was a small feat given the opportunity to learn to read. When Bethune arrived, there were a number of girls and boys that seemed to be a mixture of curious and afraid; some were excited to attend, while others were sent to the school to learn and they were the first that could by educated without punishment.
Bethune’s college was successful and while serving as President, Bethune became increasingly involved in political issues. In 1917, she became president of the Florida Federation of Colored Women. In 1924, Bethune became president of the National Association of Colored Women, which was the highest national office a black woman could be at that time. Also, in 1935, she formed the National Council of Negro Women to take on the major national issues affecting blacks. Mary had created a great relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt through her work in the National Youth Administration. This close relationship not only enhanced Bethune’s status, but it helped her to be selected for an administrative position on the New Deal according to Hanson (2003).
Mary McLeod Bethune has contributed to the development of contemporary American Education by way of standing up for what she believes in and pushing herself to do all that she can. Peare (1951) explains how Bethune did not let the fact that she was black prevent her from being a great educator, or from breaking down walls and creating educational opportunities blacks. Bethune did this by being extremely dedicated to her own education and valuing every second of class. She graduated from Mayesville Presbyterian Mission School, Moody Bible Institute and then started her teaching endeavor in Georgia, eventually moving to South Carolina, Illinois and finally Florida. Bethune opened one of the first schools for African American girls in 1904, the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School, in Daytona Beach, Florida, which is the presently renamed Bethune-Cookman College. When the school was first created, there were only five girls who attended. Bethune used boxes and crates as seats for her students and charged fifty cents per week for tuition. Bethune, adamant on educating youths because of the importance of obtaining and understanding knowledge, would never turn a student away even if their parents could not afford to send them to school. Bethune fought for equal rights in education as well as against the inequality due to segregation that blacks had to face. She was successful in opening a high school as well as a hospital for blacks, helping aid them in ways that were often overlooked.
Hanson, J. A. (2003). Mary McLeod Bethune and Black Women’s Political Activism.
Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press.
Peare, C. O. (1951). Mary McLeod Bethune. Toronto, Canada: Copp Clark Company, Ltd.
Sterne, E. G. (1957). Mary McLeod Bethune. New York: Alfred A Knoff, Inc
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