Mary McLeod Bethune

Overview

Mary McLeod Bethune born Mayesville, SC July 10, 1875 (d. 1955). Internationalist civil rights leader and government official. African-American woman college president of Bethune-Cookman School, 1923-42, 46-47. Only official African-American woman counselor present at founding of United Nations, San Francisco, 1945.

Quotations

"The world tomorrow must be a 'people's world'—if our civilization is to survive." (comment on UN, June 1945)

"I leave you love. I leave you hope. I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. I leave you a thirst for education. I leave you a respect for the use of power. I leave you faith. I leave you racial dignity. I leave you a desire to live harmoniously with your fellow men. I leave you, finally, a responsibility to our young people." (last will and testament; photo wikimedia commons)