Knowledge Is The Prime Need of the Hour: The Remarkable Life of Mary McLeod Bethune
Image of Mary McLeod Bethune circa 1915. Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo Credit: W.L. Coursen. Image courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Public Domain.
By Karla Mendez
Writer Karla Mendez reflects on the profound activism of Mary McLeod Bethune, and how Bethune’s remarkable legacy-especially in the context of voting rights-is still relevant today.
On the Life, Legacy, and Leadership of Mary McLeod Bethune
On July 10th, 1875, Mary McLeod Bethune was born in Mayesville, South Carolina to Samuel and Patsy McLeod, both formerly enslaved people. She was one of 17 children and the first to be born free. As a child, she worked alongside her mother, mostly picking cotton for their former enslaver. Her parents toiled and sacrificed so they could eventually purchase land from the plantation owner. At the age of 10, Bethune attended a Presbyterian missionary school, making her the first and only person in her family to receive a formal education. She later attended Scotia Seminary on a scholarship and graduated in 1893. Afterwards, she went to Dwight Moody’s Institute for Home and Foreign Missions in Chicago, Illinois. Her goal was to work as a missionary overseas but because no church would sponsor her, she took up teaching.
For Bethune, being an educator came naturally. When she was completing her schooling, she rushed home afterward to teach her family what she learned. Bethune taught in Georgia and South Carolina for ten years. While living in Georgia, she taught at Haines Normal and Industrial Institute, founded and run by Lucy Craft Laney. Laney was also the child of formerly enslaved people and emphasized the importance of education for girls. Bethune adopted several of Lacey’s beliefs, predominantly that educating girls and women is crucial for advancing the lives of African Americans with Bethune stating: “I believe that the greatest hope for the development of my race lies in training our women thoroughly and practically.”
“I believe that the greatest hope for the development of my race lies in training our women thoroughly and practically.”
While teaching in South Carolina, she met and married fellow teacher Albertus Bethune with whom she had a son. Bethune eventually moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, with her son and opened a boarding school, the Daytona Educational and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls, in 1904 at the cost of $1.50. When the school first opened, she had six students–Lena, Lucille, and Ruth Warren, Anna Geiger, and Celest Jackson, in addition to her son. In 1919, the school’s name was changed to Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute. In 1923, it began the merger with the Cookman Institute of Jacksonville, Florida, which was finalized in 1925. The new Daytona-Cookman Collegiate Institute was accredited by the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the Southern States, and its name officially changed to Bethune-Cookman College in 1931 and later to Bethune-Cookman University in 2007. It became, at the time, one of the only higher education institutions south of the Mason-Dixon Line where African Americans could receive an education. Following the merger and accreditation, Bethune became the first African American to serve as a college president.
Cooking class, Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls. 1910 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Public Domain.
Bethune served as president of Bethune-Cookman College from 1923 to 1942 and again in 1946 for a year. After her time as president, she became increasingly involved in other avenues of civil rights, including founding the National Council of Negro Women and forming the Federal Council of Negro Affairs. She advised several presidents and was appointed to various national commissions. Bethune passed away on May 18th, 1955 before having a chance to see what the Civil Rights Movement would become and the historic changes that would occur. However, her influence in the movement and education for African Americans lives on today and is evident in the legacy she left with her school. Because of her unrelenting passion for education, what began as a school with six students, evolved into a fully accredited university that awards bachelor’s and master’s degrees in 39 and 6 areas of study, respectively. The school has awarded degrees to over 19,000 students since 1943 and continues to fulfill Dr. Bethune’s philosophy of education being critical to advancement.
Advancing African American Women’s Right To The Vote
Mary M. Bethune, principal. 1910 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Public Domain.
Not only did Bethune believe in the power of education, she also dedicated a great part of her life to the struggle for civil rights and the advancement of African Americans. While she was president of Bethune-Cookman, she became involved in voting rights and founded numerous organizations that supported and fought for the rights of African American women. She joined the Equal Suffrage League in 1912, an organization devoted to gaining voting rights for women. Even though white women gained the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, African American women were still widely kept from gaining access to the polls. It wouldn’t be until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that African American women were able to vote.
In September 1920, several months after the passage of the 19th Amendment, women in Daytona made their way to city hall to register to work for the first time. Amongst the group was Bethune. She was the sixth woman to register to vote and was accompanied by 62 African American women, including all of her school’s teachers and house staff, and other members of the classes for citizenship from her school. Seven weeks later, the Ku Klux Klan made their way through town, leaving a burning cross on Halifax River Island on their way to the school and near the Black neighborhoods of Daytona. Instead of hiding, Bethune stood steadfast in front of the school.
She continued to risk racist attacks from the local Ku Klux Klan members and worked tirelessly to organize voter registration drives. During this time in the South, voting laws required potential voters to pass a literacy test before voting. While the test was supposedly utilized to determine voters’ literacy, it was really another avenue to continue to disenfranchise African American voters. Disenfranchisement clauses such as literacy tests and poll taxes were in place from the 1880s to the 1960s. Bethune saw how literacy tests and poll taxes prohibited African Americans from voting and tried to destroy their opportunities to gain entrance into political office. She organized night classes and taught voters how to read so they could pass the literacy tests. In addition, she went door-to-door to raise money to pay for the poll tax imposed on African American voters. Eventually, 100 hundred voters were prepared to vote.
Word spread of Bethune’s efforts. Because white Southerners did not want Black communities to vote, the night before the 1922 elections over 100 members of the Ku Klux Klan marched to her school’s campus. Having been informed of their impending arrival, she and the faculty were able to get the students to their dormitories safely. The faculty proceeded to fan out across the campus as Bethune stood in the center and refused to back down. Not one to frighten easily or give up, the next day, she led more than 100 voters to the polls to vote for the first time in the Daytona Mayoral election.
The Voting Struggles of Today
“While Bethune and other activists were critical in garnering the right for African Americans to vote, there are parallels to restricting voting laws from Bethune’s time to now, especially in the state of Florida.”
Bethune understood the importance of voting and how the lack of access for African Americans to vote could severely affect their lives. Although slavery was abolished in 1865, there were plenty of ways where government officials and groups such as the Klan could pass laws and intimidate formerly enslaved people from voting. To some, voting is one of the critical ways a racial and/or minority group can make their voices heard and to insist on structural and societal changes that will affect their communities.
Portrait of Mary McLeod Bethune. Photo Credit: Carl Van Vechten. April 6, 1949. Public Domain.
While Bethune and other activists were critical in garnering the right for African Americans to vote, there are parallels to restricting voting laws from Bethune’s time to now, especially in the state of Florida. For example, on May 6, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law SB 90, which restricts ballot drop boxes, bans the collection of multiple completed ballots by an individual, and adds more identification requirements for requesting a mail-in ballot. The SB 90 law certainly impacts African American voters because historically and statistically, racialized groups rely on ballot drop boxes because it is more difficult for them to vote during the day and organize transportation. The new law also states that except for ballot drop boxes located at the office of a local election’s supervisor, drop boxes can only be used during early voting hours. The law also prohibits donations to fund expenses affiliated with elections, such as voter education, voter outreach, and voter registration. Given the high number of immigrants and first-time voters, this law will broadly impede marginalized communities from exercising their right to vote. Those who filed lawsuits against the SB 90 bill include the League of Women Voters, Black Voters Matter Fund, and the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans.
Although the implementation of the new voting law in Florida and similar laws elsewhere in the United States are not the same laws during the early 19th century, the intent is the same– they work to limit votes. These new laws effectively make it more challenging to access absentee ballots and ballot boxes. Although these new laws do not explicitly mention any racial or ethnic communities, they greatly impact Black voters. For example, voters in Georgia who would like to vote with an absentee ballot must provide their driver’s license or a document like a utility bill or a bank statement. At least 200,000 Georgia voters do not have access to documents like bank statements or a driver’s license.
Bethune’s Political Influence and Unlikely Friendships
Mary McLeod Bethune entering the White House, when a white guard addressed her as "auntie." She stopped and asked him in her most earnest tone, "Which one of my brothers' children are you?"
Photo Credit: Mary McLeod Bethune visits the White House. 1950 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Public Domain.
Unfortunately, the new bills being signed into law are akin to those that made literacy tests and poll taxes legal. The struggles that Bethune encountered in her attempts to gain voting rights for African Americans 100 years ago are strikingly similar to those today. Politicians rationalized such laws as securing the integrity of the vote, and today they are defending voting laws as protecting the integrity of the election process. Today’s voting activists are mobilizing, like Bethune once did, to fight against restrictive voting laws. Organizations such as Black Voters Matter are organizing efforts to bring attention to voter suppression and voting rights. While the similarities between the two eras may be unsettling, it is reassuring to know there are people following in Bethune’s footsteps and are willing to raise their voices to actively try to make a change.
Not only did Bethune understand the significance of voting, she also knew she could use her friendships and associations with politicians such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to improve the position of African Americans. The friendship between Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt spanned three decades, and she became an advisor to the first lady and the president. Through their shared belief in the strength of education, they formed a tight bond, and Bethune revealed the continuing struggles of African Americans. Even in the face of criticism and hate mail, Bethune maintained a strong friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt. They made a concerted effort to be seen in public together, with Eleanor Roosevelt greeting Bethune at the entrance to the White House, walking arm in arm. Eleanor Roosevelt also raised funds for Bethune’s school.
While Bethune, like other African Americans of the time, overwhelmingly threw their support behind Republican candidates, President Roosevelt’s New Deal policies moved Black Americans to support Democrats in the 1930s and 1940s. President Roosevelt established an unofficial “Black Cabinet,” formally known as the Federal Council of Negro Affairs, which advised on issues pertaining to African Americans. Bethune was an informal organizer of the Federal Council of Negro Affairs and was later formally brought into FDR’s administration. She was named the Negro Division’s National Youth Administration (NYA) director and became the first African American to head a federal agency. Under Bethune’s leadership, the NYA created jobs for young African Americans and provided more funding for higher education programs. At the onset of the United States entrance into World War II, Bethune successfully petitioned FDR to guarantee African American women into the Women’s Army Corps. In addition, Bethune and civil rights activist A. Philip Randolph influenced FDR to desegregate the defense industry.
Bethune’s Impact – Then, Now, and Forever
“It would be an understatement to say that Bethune changed the lives of many African Americans and policies in the United States through her activism.”
It would be an understatement to say that Bethune changed the lives of many African Americans and policies in the United States through her activism. From the founding of Bethune-Cookman University to obtaining funding for higher education programs for African Americans, her contributions continue to impact American society events today. She faced Ku Klux Klan, advised numerous presidents, and was involved in various organizations that worked to further the lives of African Americans. Although the struggle for voting rights is ongoing, her legacy lives on and influences modern-day activists.
About the author:
Karla Mendez (she/her/hers) is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Central Florida, pursuing a major in Interdisciplinary Studies and a double minor in Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies. She holds a certificate in Feminism and Social Justice from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and has just completed an internship with the United Nations Association. In addition to being a student, she is a freelance writer. Karla is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, she recognizes the importance of intersectionality in feminism, and as such, her research and writing focus on the intersection of race, gender, class, and politics.
With her writing and research, she wants to introduce people to historical figures who paved the way for change while bringing awareness to how discrimination and oppression can affect people differently. She will continue to explore her research as she begins graduate school next year to pursue a Master’s in Women’s Studies and American Studies. When she isn’t studying or reading for school, she enjoys reading for fun, watching old movies, and spending time with her family. You can follow her on Instagram.