Mary McLeod Bethune
July 10, 1875 – May 18, 1955
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Childhood
Learning to Teach
Starting a School
Washington, D.C. and Beyond
Her Work Continues
Chapter 1
Childhood
Mary was born in this cabin.
Her sisters Rachel and Maria stand in front of it.
Mary McLeod Bethune was born near Mayesville,
South Carolina. Mary’s parents and many other African
Americans in this area had been enslaved. They were
forced to work without pay.
By 1875, when Mary was born, slavery had ended.
Still, African American children could not go to school with
white children.
One day, Mary was playing with some white
children. She picked up a book. “You can’t read that –
put that down,” one of the white girls said. Mary promised
herself that some day she would learn to read.
Not long after that, a woman named Emma Wilson
started a school in Mayesville for African American
children. Mary thought about the girl who had told her to
put the book down. She remembered how those words
made her feel. Many decided she would try hard to learn
to read at Miss Wilson’s school. She wanted to prove that
the girl was wrong.
Miss Wilson’s school did not have a building. The
students met in a church and sat on rough benches.
Mary always remembered Miss Wilson’s beautiful smile.
By the time Mary was fifteen, she had learned all she
could at Miss Wilson’s school. Mary taught her older
brother and others what she knew. She was one of the
few people in her community who could read. She read
aloud to her neighbors from newspapers and from the
Bible.
One day, Miss Wilson visited Mary’s family. She
thought Mary should go to high school. A woman offered
to pay for a girl to go to Scotia Seminary. A seminary is a
school with a special purpose. Scotia was a school that
was just for African American teenage girls. It was in
Concord, North Carolina.
“Would you like to go?” Mary’s father asked. Mary
was glad to have a chance to go to school once again.
Mary’s parents were Samuel and Patsy McLeod.
Mary’s friends were happy for her. Her neighbors
made her a dress, aprons, and other clothes. The whole
community stopped work to go to the train station on the
day she left. They were excited that a girl they knew was
going to school. They wanted to say good-bye. They
wanted to wish her well.
Mary had never been on a train before. The steam
train made a puffing sound. Mary thought it was saying
“Scotia, Scotia, Scotia” as it carried her to North Carolina.
Chapter 1
Childhood
1.
Where was Mary McLeod Bethune born?
5.
Where did Miss Wilson teach her classes?
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6.
What did Mary remember about Miss Wilson?
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2.
Was Mary born a slave? _______ Explain.
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3.
What happened to Mary as a young girl that made
her determined to learn how to read?
_________________________________________________________
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4.
Who started the school in Mayesville for African
American children?
_________________________________________________________
7.
How old was Mary when she’d learned all she could
at Miss Wilson’s school?
_________________________________________________________
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8.
What did Mary do with the knowledge that she
learned at Miss Wilson’s school?
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9.
One day, Miss Wilson visited Mary’s family to get her
father’s permission to attend high school. Where was this
high school and what was its name?
Chapter 2
Learning to Teach
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10.
What is a seminary?
_________________________________________________________
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11.
How did Mary’s family and friend show their support
of Mary going to Scotia?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
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12.
What did Mary think the sound of the train was
saying?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Scotia Seminary was in a brick building. Mary
had never been in a brick building before. At
Scotia, Mary had a bed to herself with a bedspread.
The table in the dining room had a white tablecloth.
There were knives and forks on the table. Mary had
grown up in a simple wood cabin. She wasn’t used
to such fancy things.
At first, Mary made lots of mistakes. She had
never learned the kind of table manners girls at
Scotia had. She didn’t worry about her mistakes,
though. She worked hard in school. She tried to
help others.
At Scotia, all the students worked to keep the
school clean. They did laundry, baked bread, and
scrubbed floors. Teachers gave Mary their best
clothes to wash because she did such a good job.
The cakes and breads she baked were everyone’s
favorites.
Mary studied hard. She sang and played
music. She learned how to argue for her ideas on
the debate team. She was a friend to girls who were
homesick or needed advice. Mary’s friendship and
care toward others made hear a leader. Other girls
trusted her.
When Mary finished at Scotia, she went to
Chicago, Illinois. She studied at the Moody Bible
Institute. She wanted to become a missionary and
teach people about her religion.
Mary McLeod Bethune hoped to go to Africa.
When she finished school, however, she could not
get a job. The churches that sent missionaries to
Africa did not want to send African Americans.
Bethune was sad that she couldn’t go to
Africa. Then she realized that children in the United
States could use her help. She became a teacher.
She taught at a school called the Haines Institute in
Augusta, Georgia. Lucy Laney had started the
Haines Institute for African American children.
Laney taught Bethune a lot about how to teach
and run a school.
Chapter 2
Learning to Teach
1.
How was the Scotia Seminary different from Mary’s
home?
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2.
What did the students do to keep the school clean?
_________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________
3.
List some of the things Mary did while at the
seminary?
_________________________________________________________
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4.
When Mary left Scotia, she went to the Moody Bible
Institute. What did Bethune study at the Moody Bible
Institute?
Lucy Craft Laney started the Haines Institute in Georgia.
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
5.
When Bethune realized that she could not go to
Africa, what did she decide to do?
_________________________________________________________
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6.
Who had a great influence on Bethune and what
did she teach her?
_________________________________________________________
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Chapter 3
Starting a School
Bethune and some of her students in the early days of her school.
Bethune was ready to start a school of her own. She
looked for a place that needed a school for African
American girls. She visited several towns. She decided to
start a school in Daytona, Beach, on the east coast of
Florida, because many African Americans lived there.
They had started churches and clubs. They owned
businesses. More African Americans were moving to
Daytona Beach, and there were not enough schools for
African American children.
Bethune had only $1.50 to start a school. She had
something more important than money, however. She
had diligence. She was willing to work hard.
People in the community helped her raise money.
They gave her clothes, dishes, and food. Some helped
build the school. Others agreed to teach without pay.
Working together, they finally got the school ready.
When the school opened in 1904, it had five
students. Two years later, it had 250 students. Most were
girls. The school had classes at night, too. Adults came
after work to learn.
Bethune helped the community in other ways. She
started a hospital and a chorus. The chorus sang for
people in jail and in fancy hotels.
Soon the school needed more room. An empty
field was for sale. It cost $250. Bethune promised the seller
five dollars by the end of the week. She said she would
pay the rest in two years.
Bethune didn’t have five dollars, but she worked
diligently to earn it. She baked pies and sold them until
she had earned enough for the first payment.
Families in Daytona Beach held dinners to raise
money for the school. Bethune road her bicycle over miles
of dusty roads. She asked churches and clubs for help.
Even if people didn’t give her school money, she
smiled. She said, “Thank you for your time.” She did not
even think about giving up.
The school grew. It added more buildings and
classes. Just as Scotia, students took care of the school.
They raised food for themselves and for money. By 1931,
the school was a college.
Chapter 3
Starting a School
5.
When the school opened in 1904, how many
students did Bethune have?________________
1.
Bethune decided to start a school in Daytona
Beach. Why did she choose Daytona Beach, Florida?
6.
Two years later, how many students did the school
have? __________________
_________________________________________________________
7.
What are some other ways in which Bethune helped
the community?
_________________________________________________________
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2.
How much money did Bethune have to start the
school?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
8.
Like the Scotia Seminary, the students took care of
themselves and the school. Explain.
3.
How did she raise enough money to start the
school?
_________________________________________________________
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4.
What does diligence mean?
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Chapter 4
Washington, D.C., and Beyond
Eleanor Roosevelt visits with Mary McLeod Bethune.
Although starting a school was a lot work
Bethune did even more. She liked to bring people
together. She knew that when people worked together
they had great power. She started clubs to “harness
{capture} the great power” of African American women.
Women in these clubs were volunteers. They chose
to help people in their communities without getting paid.
They did all kinds of work. They raised money for summer
camps. They taught classes in health care and in skills
such as cooking.
In 1924, Bethune became president of a group of
African American women who came from all over the
United States. She went to meetings for women for many
different groups. Most of the groups allowed only white
women to join.
African American and white women could not sit
together at these meetings. Bethune argued against this
segregation.
During the 1920s, President Calvin Coolidge and
Herbert Hoover asked Bethune to come to meetings of
leaders who wanted to help children. Bethune respected
the authority of the Presidents, so she was happy to take
part.
At the end of the 1920s, a depression began in the
United States. In a depression, many people lose their jobs
because businesses fail. This hard time lasted for about
ten years.
Franklin D. Roosevelt promised to help people who
needed jobs. In 1932, voters elected him President. He
started many new programs to help people. One was the
National Youth Administration, or NYA. The NYA created
jobs for teenagers and young adults.
Eleanor Roosevelt, the President’s wife, had met
Bethune at meetings. She knew Bethune cared about
justice, or equal treatment, for African American young
people.
Eleanor Roosevelt told the President about Bethune.
He hired Bethune to work in the NYA. Working for the
President gave Bethune more responsibility than any other
African American person at this time. She went to live in
Washington, D.C., so she could work with the President
and other leaders. Her job was to make sure that he NYA
helped African Americans.
Many young Africana Americans got jobs because
of Bethune’s work. They earned money that helped their
families during the depression.
In 1941, Bethune-Cookman College became a fouryear college. Students could study many subjects and
prepare for different jobs.
The United States went to war in 1941. African
Americans who had worked in the NYA had the training to
get high-paying factory jobs. They made equipment to
fight the war.
Bethune could look back and feel proud. She had
helped so many people in so many ways.
Chapter 4
Washington, D.C., and Beyond
1.
Why did President Calvin Coolidge and Herbert
Hoover ask Bethune to come to meetings of leaders?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2.
What happened at the end of the 1920s?
_________________________________________________________
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3.
What is a “depression”?
_________________________________________________________
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4.
What did President Roosevelt hire Bethune to do?
_________________________________________________________
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5.
What does NYA stand for and what does it do?
_________________________________________________________
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6.
Why was Bethune’s job with the NYA so important to
African Americans?
_________________________________________________________
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7.
Name two events that were significant in 1941?
_________________________________________________________
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8.
How had the NYA prepared African Americans
when the war broke out in 1941?
_________________________________________________________
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Chapter 5
Her Work Continues
In 1974, Bethune became the first woman and the
first African American to be honored with a statue in a
public park in Washington, D.C.
Most important is the way Bethune changed the
lives of students and young workers throughout the United
States. Bethune said of herself, “All my life I have lived for
youth, I have begged for them and fought for them and lived for them
… My story is their story.”
Chapter 5
Her Work Continues
Bethune was proud of who she was. She was proud
of her work. She wanted to teach girls and young women
to be proud.
She was famous for wearing richly colored clothes.
She wore capes and carried a cane. She said, “Look at
me, I am Black, I am beautiful.”
Bethune won many awards. Universities and
organizations in the United States honored her hard work
for freedom and justice.
She was also honored in other countries. She
received the Medal of Honor and Merit from Haiti in 1949.
She toured Europe as an honored guest with other United
States leaders.
Her dreams of going to Africa came true, too. She
went to Africa in 1952. In Liberia, she was honored with
the Star of Africa Award.
Bethune died in 1955, but her work continues.
Bethune-Cookman College had its 100th anniversary in
2004. One of the groups Bethune started, the National
Council of Negro Women, is still at work. This group helps
African American women and children and their
communities.
1.
Why did Bethune wear richly colored clothes, capes,
and carry a cane?
_________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________
2.
How was she honored in Haiti?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3.
Did Bethune ever go to Africa? __________
What honor did she receive?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
4. List two other ways in which Bethune was honored in
the United States?
Volunteer – a person who helps people or groups without
pay.
Technology Link (SAMS)
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




Glossary

Authority – the right and power to lead.
Debate team – a team that competes by making
arguments for or against an idea.
Depression – a time when many people lose jobs and
companies go out of business.
Diligence – working hard for a long time.
Justice – equal treatment under the law.
Missionary – a person who helps people while teaching
them about a religion.
Respect for and acceptance of authority – believing
leaders have the right to lead.
Segregation – a system of keeping people of different
races separate.
http://greatwomen.org/women.php?action=viewone&id=18
http://africawithin.com/bios/mary_bethune.htm
http://www.usca.edu/aasc/bethune.htm
http://www.nps.gov/mamc/
http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/mary_mcleod_bethune.h
tm
http://www.floridamemory.com/OnlineClassroom/MaryBethun
e/Bethune_bio3.cfm
http://www.nypl.org/research/sc/scl/bethune.html --sound
files of Bethune speaking