Mary McLeod Bethune was born in 1875.  She was the fifteenth child of Patsy and Sam McLeod.  She grew up in South Carolina and helped on her family’s farm.  Her parents were slaves.  They had been set free by the time Mary was born. 

     She went to school and learned to read and write.  Later, she went away to school.  Mary McLeod became a teacher and taught in Georgia.  She met another teacher.  His name was Albertus Bethune.  They got married in 1898.  They had one son.  Their marriage didn’t last very long.  She took her son and went to Daytona Beach, Florida to start a school for black children.

     She had just a little bit of money, so she used whatever she could find for school supplies.  She wanted to build a school.  Some people helped her by giving her money.  Her school grew and things got better.  Her school and a school just for boys joined and became one school.  The school was a grade school, high school, and a college.

     Mary McLeod Bethune was asked by President Roosevelt to help with the National Youth Administration.  It helped young people from 16 to 24 years go to school and find jobs.  She was the first African-American woman to have a job like that one.  She worked hard to help people get along and make equal rights for African-Americans.

 Interesting Facts:

 She had an interesting saying.

“Just because you have not seen a thing doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

 She had 72 black rose bushes planted at Bethune-Cookman College.  She had black tulips planted where people walked up to the school.

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