Mary Mcleod Bethune biography

Essay by frankinsonHigh School, 10th grade February 2007

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Mary Bethune was born on July 19, 1875 in Mayesville, South Carolina, originally named Mary Jane Mcleod. Her parents are Samuel and Patsy Mcleod. She had 16 brothers and sisters, the oldest ones being born into slavery, but then emancipated after the Civil War. When she was young, she picked cotton and attended Methodist mission school. Later, she was picked for a scholarship to Scotia Seminary. After she graduated, she moved Palatka, Florida and started her teaching career. There she met Albertus Bethune. They got married and had a son named Albert Bethune. After about eight years of marriage Albertus left her and she never heard of him ever again. Mary's early life has shown her the goods and bads life can be, which helps her deal with future problems.

In 1904, Mary moved to Daytona Beach and started a little cabin school on top a former landfill. The school started with 5 girl students and a tuition of 50 cents a week.

Her one room school was the Daytona Normal and Industrial School for Negro Girls. Her school then merged with Cookam Institute, thus becoming to be known as Bethune-Cookman College, which is still in use today. It was amazing of how great she made her school, with over 1,000 enrolled students and a one million dollar physical plant value at the time of her death when she only had $1.50 to her name in the beginning.

Mary Bethune has accomplished so much in her life. She is one of the most influential African American women in the country. She was a national leader in the civil rights struggle. She had been a leader to many different groups. She was president of her school from 1923 to 1942 and 1946 to 1947, president of the National Association of...