Discover the Unexpected: Top 7 Fun Facts About Mary McLeod Bethune You Never Knew!

1. School Founder & Presidential Advisor

Talk about schooling the competition: Mary McLeod Bethune founded an entire institution for young Black women, eventually giving rise to Bethune-Cookman College, and even moonlighted as an advisor to President Franklin Roosevelt while establishing the National Council of Negro Women.
Source => nationalww2museum.org

2. Sweet Potato Pie University

If life gives you sweet potatoes, make pies and start a university: Mary McLeod Bethune was the ultimate pie-in-the-sky thinker, literally using sweet potato pie sales to fund the founding of an educational institution in Florida. Her unshakable resolve and pastry pursuits led to the creation of Bethune-Cookman University, a celebrated historically black college, in addition to her becoming a distinguished civil rights leader, successful businesswoman, and government heavyweight.
Source => delawarepublic.org

Did you know the real-life "Moses" was a fearless woman named Harriet Tubman? She led 19 daring trips to free around 300 slaves through the Underground Railroad! Discover her astonishing story 🚂💪🔗

=> Fun Facts about Harriet-Tubman

3. Original Sisterhood Queen

Move over, Beyoncé and her #Beyhive: there's another queen who had the sisterhood buzzing long before Queen B took the stage: Mary McLeod Bethune was the founder and first president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), a group that tackled civil rights like a boss and laid the groundwork for the modern movement advocating for political and social rights of African American women.
Source => searchablemuseum.com

4. Hurricane Relief Hero

When life gives you hurricanes, make hurricane relief lemonade: Mary McLeod Bethune, besides founding a college and advising U.S. presidents, stepped up as a whirlwind of a leader by organizing the Red Cross response in Florida after a catastrophic hurricane in 1928.
Source => news-journalonline.com

5. Glass Ceiling Smasher

When she wasn't busy coining the phrase "Yes she can" decades ahead of her time, Mary McLeod Bethune was snapping glass ceilings like dried spaghetti: In 1936, she made history by becoming the first black female administrator in the federal government, serving as Director of the National Youth Administration's Division of Negro Affairs and creating numerous resources for black girls and women, ultimately benefiting nearly 300,000 young black individuals and drastically improving their job opportunities.
Source => rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov

6. Monopoly Woman

If Mary McLeod Bethune were alive today, she'd give "monopoly man" a run for his money: a trailblazing entrepreneur, she not only owned Florida real estate but also founded Central Life Insurance of Florida, penned articles for prestigious publications, and held the prestigious title of first female president of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc. – all while creating a home base for Black women's history archives called "the Retreat."
Source => nps.gov

7. Blackboard Powerhouse

In a world where "blackboards rule the classroom," one woman knew the true power of the black woman: Mary McLeod Bethune created history by founding and presiding over the first higher education institution for black women in the United States, now known as Bethune-Cookman College in Florida.
Source => brignews.com