Mary McLeod Bethune

1
Mary McLeod Bethune

• Essential Question
• How do I discuss the lives of historical figures
  who expanded peoples rights and freedoms in a
  democracy?

2
Who?

• Mary McLeod Bethune was born in Mayesville, South
  Carolina in 1875.
• She was one of 17 children!
• Her parents were freed slaves.
• Mary wanted to be a teacher and a missionary
  when she grew up.

WORD
Missionary a person chosen to go share what
they believe in.
TO KNOW
3
What?

• When Mary grew up, she was asked to start a
  school in Florida. She used boxes and crates for
  desks and chairs. She crushed berries for ink and
  used charcoal for pencils.
• She did all the jobs at the school-teacher,
  janitor, secretary, and principal.

4
When?

• Mary opened her school in 1904. Her son and five
  other girls were her students. They paid 0.50 a
  week to go to school.
• Two years later, her school had 250 students!
  Most were girls.

5
Where?

• Mary moved to Daytona, Florida to open her
  school. She wanted to help African American
  girls. Daytona was a place were lots of African
  Americans lived and there were not enough schools
  for the African American children.
• Students at her school learned reading, writing,
  math, how to cook, sew, and take care of a home.
• In 1931, Marys school became a college. It is
  called Bethune-Cookman College.
• Students can still attend her school today to
  learn many subjects and prepare for different
  jobs.

6
Where?

• 1875 Mayesville, South Carolina
• Mary McLeod Bethune is born.
• 1894 Chicago, Illinois
• She attended the Moody Bible Institute.
• 1904 Daytona Beach, Florida
• Bethune starts a school for African American
  girls
• Mary changed the lives of people all over the
  United States.

7
Why?

• Mary McLeod Bethune was a leader, teacher,
  author, speaker, businesswoman, and tireless
  worker. She worked hard to see that all Americans
  of color and all women had equal rights.
• Marys greatest contribution was her work as an
  educator. Mary spent her life helping African
  Americans to have educational opportunities.

8
Accomplishments

• In 1974, Mary was the first woman and the first
  African American to be honored with a statue in a
  public park in Washington, D.C.
• This stamp and statue are just two ways Bethune
  is honored today.

9
Character Traits
Tolerance

• People show tolerance when they let people have
  their own ways and beliefs, even if they are
  different from their own.
• Mary worked for acceptance of African Americans
  and women. Mary worked for tolerance

Diligence

• People who work for a long time show diligence.
• Bethunes hard work over many years to build a
  school showed her diligence.

Justice

• Justice means equal treatment in a system of
  laws.
• Bethune wanted everyone to have an equal chance
  to succeed, so she worked for justice.