July 15, 2022 12:08PM # Friday Feature: Mary McLeod Bethune By [Colleen Hroncich](https://www.cato.org/people/colleen-hroncich) --- SHARE “We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.” These compelling words from Mary McLeod Bethune’s [last will and testament](https://www.cookman.edu/history/last-will-testament.html) were written nearly 70 years ago, but the truth of them is just as relevant today. Bethune, born in South Carolina in 1875, was the daughter of former slaves. In her early years, her life was centered around cotton fields; she could pick [250 pounds](https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mary-mcleod-bethune) of cotton a day by the time she was nine. Everything changed when she became the [only child](https://www.biography.com/news/mary-mcleod-bethune-education-pioneer) in her family to attend school. She would later say, “the whole world opened to me when I learned how to read.” Mary McLeod Bethune lived an incredibly inspirational life. She graduated from Scotia Seminary in North Carolina in 1894 and then Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. She became a teacher in Georgia before moving back to South Carolina. After getting married in 1898, she moved to Florida with her husband and son. When her husband left her, Bethune didn’t let it stop her from fulfilling her dream of starting a school. In 1904, she founded the Daytona Literary and Industrial Training Institute for Negro Girls [with](https://www.cookman.edu/history/our-founder.html) “$1.50, vision, an entrepreneurial mindset, resilience and faith in God.” Black families in Daytona in 1904 faced immense [obstacles](https://www.cato.org/blog/friday-feature-mary-mcleod-bethune). The public schools were segregated, and the ones for black children were dilapidated and the children received fewer instructional hours than white children. Having benefitted from attending private schools, Bethune set out to create a better option. Bethune’s vision was a school that focused on both practical skills and academics—for the dual purposes of survival and uplifting. “This is a new kind of school,” she [said](https://www.jstor.org/stable/30148760?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3Ae31718fad42704c15289ab037d80c590&seq=10#page_scan_tab_contents). “I’m going to teach my girls crafts and homemaking. I’m going to teach them to earn a living. They will be training in head, hand, and heart. Their heads to think, their hands to work, and their hearts to have faith.” Over time, the curriculum expanded to include more business and liberal arts courses along with training for teachers and nurses. In 1923, the school merged with Cookman Institute of Jacksonville. The merged school was initially called the Daytona-Cookman Collegiate Institute, but it was changed to Bethune-Cookman College in 1931. Today, there are 2,600 students enrolled at what is now Bethune-Cookman University. Bethune faced tremendous odds when she started her school, but it thrived thanks to her vision and determination. Today, teachers, community leaders, and education entrepreneurs can follow her lead in a friendlier environment, thanks in part to Florida’s tax credit scholarship and education savings account programs. There’s even an [effort](https://floridapolitics.com/archives/472577-william-mattox-lets-rename-floridas-k-12-scholarships-for-mary-mcleod-bethune/) to re-name all of the state’s school choice programs after Bethune in recognition of her impact. In addition to her education efforts, Bethune worked tirelessly to advance the rights of women and black Americans. She was [honored](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/07/13/mary-mcleod-bethune-statue-capitol/) earlier this week with a statue in the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall, where each state is represented by two statues. Bethune’s statue represents Florida, making her the first black person to represent a state in Statuary Hall. Mary McLeod Bethune understood education has the potential to completely change people’s lives—she’d experienced its power herself. While schools are no longer allowed to racially segregate, the continued practice of assigning children to schools based on their addresses rather than their needs means many still aren’t receiving an education that works for them. Like Bethune, today’s education entrepreneurs and those who work for expanded school choice are moving us closer to a world where every child has access to an excellent education. ##### Related Tags [Education](https://www.cato.org/education), [Center for Educational Freedom](https://www.cato.org/center-educational-freedom), [Friday Feature](https://www.cato.org/friday-feature) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).