Mary McLeod Bethune, Ph.D. (1875-1955) was an educational leader, humanitarian, social activist and pioneering government official. In 1904, Bethune founded a school in Daytona Beach, Florida (present-day Bethune-Cookman University) with $1.50 and six students. During the 1930s, she was the only woman in President Franklin Roosevelt’s “Unofficial Black Cabinet.” She directed the National Youth Administration, the Office of Minority Affairs and the Division of Negro Affairs. During WWII, her friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resulted in the creation of groups like the Tuskegee Airmen. Post-WWII, Bethune was a consultant to the U.S. delegation and helped draft the charter for the United Nations. Bethune is known as one of the most important women in American history.
