Mary mcleod bethune fun facts

Born Mary Jane McLeod on July 10, 1875 in Mayesville, South Carolina to two slave parents, Mary began working in the fields at the age of five with the rest of her family.

However, Mary took an interest in becoming educated and hoped to become an African missionary, and with financial benefactors, Mary attended college in an attempt at realising this dream.

However, whilst Bethune was studying, it emerged that Black missionaries were not needed, and she moved her aspirations towards teaching.

Career

National Association of Colored Women

In 1896, the National Association of Colored Women was formed to promote the needs of Black Women.

Bethune served as the Florida chapter president of the NACW from 1917 to 1925 and worked to register Black voters, which was resisted by White society who had made it almost impossible by a variety of obstacles in Florida law.

Bethune also served as the president of the Southeastern Federati