Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was born just 10 years after slavery ended and was one of the seventeen children her former slave parents gave birth to.
Mary Jane was the only child in her family to attend school; She walked miles to and miles from school and attempted to teach what she learned to both her parents and siblings.
Mary Jane received a scholarship to attend college in North Carolina at Barbara-Scotia College before she moved on to pursue graduate studies at Chicago's Moody Bible Institute and thereafter became an educator.
Dr. Bethune once said,
" The drums of Africa still beat in my heart. They will not let me rest while there is a single Negro boy or girl without a chance to prove his worth..."
Such a statement may have been Dr. Bethune's motivation to start the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro girls in 1904. The college merged with the Cookman Institute for Negro boys and is known today as Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida www.cookman.edu/
College students Nationwide navigate to Daytona Beach to celebrate spring break annually.
We honor Dr. Bethune this Black History Month and forever more for her service, integrity, perseverance and dedication to the Black community. Many Black/African-American's have yet to understand how hard it was to establish educational institutions for Blacks.
In the following article Daily thought: BHM- the Littlerock nine segregation and the first attempt to blend Blacks with White's in educational institutions was discussed.
Where would Black/African American's be today if people like Dr. Bethune and the Littlerock Nine had not maintained their focus or chose to cower away in disbelief of progress?
Thank you could never say enough...
Comments