Why Mary McLeod Bethune Is “The First Lady of the Struggle”
From the cotton fields to the White House, how Mary McLeod Bethune became one of the most inspirational civil rights leaders of the twentieth century.
“A woman is free if she lives by her own standards and creates her own destiny if she prizes her individuality and puts no boundaries on her hopes for tomorrow.” — Mary McLeod Bethune
As a child, Mary McLeod would often accompany her mother Patsy, a former enslaved person, to deliver the laundry to white families around the small town of Mayesville, South Carolina. One day, the curious girl wandered into the children’s nursery in one of the homes and picked up a book that caught her eye. Suddenly, the book was snatched from her hand by a white girl who reprimanded her and said, “Put that down. You can’t read!” That simple, yet biting, remark would define the life and work of Mary McLeod Bethune.
Mary came to epitomize the woman who created her own destiny and lived with boundless dreams because opportunity was not something handed to her. This remarkable woman, who would go on to be one of the most respected educators in the…
