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Mary Mcleod Bethune: The First African-American Activist

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When a person thinks of Mary McLeod Bethune they will think of her as a one of the most crucial African American educators. Not only was Bethune an educator, she was also an activist, and president of the National Association of Colored Women. Mary McLeod is admired by women across the world for becoming one of the most influential educators. Bethune was born on July 10, 1875 in South Carolina. She was the daughter of former slaves. She grew up as one of the seventeen children born to former slaves and she lived in poverty. She was the only child in her family to attend school, because a missionary opened a school for African American children nearby. Mary McLeod later received a scholarship to now Barber - Scotia College (previously known as Scotia Seminary), a school for girls. After she graduated in 1893, she attended Dwight Moody’s Institute for Home and Foreign missions and she completed her studies there two years later and went on to become a teacher. …show more content…
Not only was she admired for her career, but she also had a large significance in the shaping of our society. She was president of the National Association of Colored Women and in 1924 became the organization’s leader. Mary McLeod eventually became involved into the government and shared her expertise with a manifold of presidents. In 1935, Bethune became an advisor for President Roosevelt and later that year started her own civil rights organization called the National Council of Negro Women. A year later she became the director of the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth administration. McLeod additionally was one of the founders for the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Daytona,

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