Mary McLeod Bethune was an influential African American educator and civil rights leader. She was born in 1875 in South Carolina to formerly enslaved parents. Bethune dedicated her life to promoting education and fighting for racial equality.

In 1904, Bethune founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls in Florida, which later merged with the Cookman Institute to become the Bethune-Cookman College. She was a firm believer in the power of education to uplift African Americans and provide opportunities for advancement.

Bethune was a tireless advocate for civil rights and gender equality. She was a founding member of the National Association of Colored Women and later served as the president of the National Council of Negro Women. Bethune also played a key role in advising presidents on issues affecting African Americans, including Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Throughout her life, Mary McLeod Bethune was a champion of education, civil rights, and social justice. Her legacy lives on through the institutions she founded and the impact she had on the advancement of African Americans in the United States.