American educator, philanthropist, humanitarian, womanist, and civil rights leader Mary McLeod Bethune (“ McLeod; July 10, 1875–May 18, 1955). After founding the National Council of Negro Women in 1935, Bethune went on to start the organization’s flagship publication, the Aframerican Women’s Journal. She oversaw the National Association for Colored Women and other African-American women’s groups. President Franklin D. Roosevelt nominated Bethune secretary of the National Youth Association (NYA), making her the first Black woman to head a federal organization. She founded an African-American private school that subsequently evolved into Bethune-Cookman…
Mary McLeod Bethune: The Christian Educator Who Built a Legacy of Hope & Learning
