1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. 3 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:14,720 Speaker 2: Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: Wilson, and I'm Holly Frye. The other day, I was 5 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:22,160 Speaker 1: scrolling on my phone and I got to a movie trailer. 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: I did not instantly know what movie this trailer could 7 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: be for, but then Carrie Washington said, Soldiers, I am 8 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:35,640 Speaker 1: Captain Charity Adams, and I burst into tears. Uh. Maybe 9 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: I was. 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 2: Having a day, I don't know, but I was really 11 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:41,280 Speaker 2: happy about the idea of the six Triple eight Central 12 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 2: Postal Directory Battalion getting a movie, so happy that I 13 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 2: started crying. And then a few seconds after that, I 14 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 2: instantly recognized Mary McLeod Bethune, who was being played by 15 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 2: Oprah Winfrey. Mary McLeod Bethune has been on my list 16 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 2: for a very long time. We have gotten tons of 17 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 2: listener requests for an episode about her, so this is 18 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 2: not a sponsored episode for this movie. I just decided 19 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 2: that this whole trailer experience was a sign that I 20 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 2: needed to move Mary McLeod Bethune up to. 21 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: The top of the list. 22 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 2: We are recording this on December the seventeenth, so the 23 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 2: movie is not out yet. It is scheduled to hit 24 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 2: Netflix on December twentieth, so it will be out by 25 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,040 Speaker 2: the time the episode comes out. I have no idea 26 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,800 Speaker 2: what people will think of this movie once they've seen it, 27 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 2: but it did inspire this episode today. Mary Jane McLeod 28 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,479 Speaker 2: was born on July tenth, eighteen seventy five, near Maysville, 29 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 2: South Carolina. According to most sources, she was the fifteenth 30 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 2: of seventeen children born to Samuel and Patsy McLeod. Her 31 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,120 Speaker 2: parents and older siblings had been enslaved, and some of 32 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 2: her oldest siblings had also been sold away from the 33 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 2: rest of the family. Once these siblings learned that they 34 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 2: had been freed, they made their way back to the 35 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 2: farm where Samuel had been enslaved, and from there they 36 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,359 Speaker 2: all reunited with Mary's parents, meeting some of their grandchildren 37 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 2: for the first time. Of course, the Emancipation Proclamation was 38 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 2: issued on January first, eighteen sixty three, and the Thirteenth 39 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 2: Amendment abolishing slavery was ratified on December sixth, eighteen sixty five, 40 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 2: so this was years before Mary Jane McLeod was born, 41 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,640 Speaker 2: and a lot of writing about her says that she 42 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 2: was the first in her family to be free from birth. 43 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 2: That idea really seems to be everywhere, including in full 44 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 2: length biographies that have been published about her just over 45 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 2: the last few years. But it does not appear to 46 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 2: be true, even if we kind of set aside the 47 00:02:50,639 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 2: Emancipation Proclamation, which Confederate authorities and enslavers might have refused 48 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,560 Speaker 2: to recognize. She had at least two older siblings, Kissy 49 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 2: and William, who were born after eighteen sixty five. They're 50 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,079 Speaker 2: listed on census records for eighteen seventy and eighteen eighty, 51 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 2: and in eighteen seventy their ages are listed as only 52 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 2: one and three. This is something we're going to talk 53 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:17,520 Speaker 2: about some more on Friday, because I went down a 54 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 2: whole huge rabbit hole about it. 55 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:25,399 Speaker 1: Samuel and Patsy were loving, strict and devoutly religious, welcoming 56 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,800 Speaker 1: circuit riders whenever they passed through the area, and acting 57 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: as leaders in their Methodist church. They made their living 58 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: growing and selling cotton. After the end of the Civil War, 59 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: Patsy McLeod had continued to work for her former enslaver 60 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: as a cook until she was able to save up 61 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: enough money to buy five acres of land, and the 62 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: family eventually saved up enough to buy thirty more acres. 63 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: Patsy also took in laundry and did domestic work, and 64 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: it really took everyone, including the children, to support the family. 65 00:03:57,320 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: Before the end of the Civil War, it had been 66 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,839 Speaker 1: illegal to educate enslaved people in South Carolina, and afterward, 67 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: many of Mary's older siblings, who were still school aged, 68 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: only had the opportunity to go to school when they 69 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 1: had access to one for black students, and also when 70 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: they weren't needed on the farm. 71 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:19,799 Speaker 2: In an interview that she gave later on in her life, 72 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:24,039 Speaker 2: Bethune described herself as different from her siblings, even down 73 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 2: to just liking different foods. Her older sisters wanted to 74 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 2: get married early, but she really did not. Instead, she 75 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 2: described herself as having a missionary spirit and a desire 76 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 2: to do things for other people, including doing things like 77 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 2: sharing her shoes with children who didn't have any. Her 78 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:46,039 Speaker 2: family seems to have seen her as different as well, 79 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:50,839 Speaker 2: but they also supported her in that difference. She also 80 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 2: really really wanted to learn how to read when her 81 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 2: reformative experiences in her childhood happened when she accompanied her 82 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:01,960 Speaker 2: mother to work at the home of a white family. 83 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:05,200 Speaker 2: One day, when Mary picked up a book in the 84 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 2: playhouse where this family's children did their schoolwork, one of 85 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 2: them told her to put it down because she could 86 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,680 Speaker 2: not read, and in her words, quote, it just did 87 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 2: something to my pride and to my heart. So in 88 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 2: eighteen eighty five, when seventeen year old Emma Jane Wilson 89 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 2: came to the farm looking for children to teach at 90 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:29,280 Speaker 2: the newly established Trinity Chapel Presbyterian Mission School in Maysville, 91 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 2: Mary was allowed to go. She had to walk four 92 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 2: or five miles each way every day to get there, 93 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 2: and when she got home she would try to teach 94 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 2: her family everything that she had learned. She also started 95 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 2: helping to handle things that required literacy or math skills, 96 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:48,719 Speaker 2: like selling the cotton crop. Learning itself was also just 97 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 2: a joy. In miss Hunes's words, quote, the whole world 98 00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 2: opened to me when I learned to read. Wilson was 99 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 2: a patient, dedicated and caring teacher, but within a couple 100 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,240 Speaker 2: of years, who sometimes also was called Mary Jane. When 101 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,720 Speaker 2: she was little, she'd learned what she could from the school, 102 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:10,120 Speaker 2: but then she learned that a scholarship was available to 103 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 2: continue her education at Scotia Seminary, a Presbyterian seminary that's 104 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 2: now Barber Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina. There she 105 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 2: was in the school's chorus and on the debate team, 106 00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 2: and she was often a soloist at church. She graduated 107 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 2: from there on June thirteenth, eighteen eighty four. Mary Jane 108 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 2: McLeod was devoutly religious. She started every day with meditation 109 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:39,360 Speaker 2: and scripture reading, and for a long time her dream 110 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 2: had been to become a missionary and to go to Africa. 111 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 2: She learned about another scholarship, this time to Dwight Moody's 112 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 2: Institute for Home and Foreign Missions in Chicago, Illinois that's 113 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 2: now Moody's Bible Institute, and she found out this was 114 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 2: a place where she could train to do that work 115 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 2: she had thought of. Her education up to this point 116 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 2: had been at schools for black students, but at the 117 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 2: Bible Institute she was the only black student. Her coursework included. 118 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: Bible and music study, as well as practical work doing 119 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: things like visiting people in their homes, local missions, and jails. 120 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: But when she applied to become a missionary in Africa, 121 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: she was denied. According to her account, later on, the 122 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,440 Speaker 1: Presbyterian Mission Board told her it did not have any 123 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: openings for a black missionary in Africa. She was deeply 124 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: upset about this, and for a time she went back 125 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: home to South Carolina. When the Mission Board told her 126 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:40,480 Speaker 1: it had an appointment for her at the Haines Institute 127 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: in Augusta, Georgia, she went there. After teaching in Augusta 128 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: for a while, she moved on to Sumter, South Carolina, 129 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: to work at another Presbyterian mission school. There she sang 130 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: in the church choir, which is where she met Albertus Bethune. 131 00:07:56,520 --> 00:07:59,280 Speaker 1: They got married on May six, eighteen ninety eight, and 132 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: afterwards they moved to Savannah. Their son, Albertus Mclodbithune, was 133 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,040 Speaker 1: born there on February third, eighteen eighty nine. 134 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:13,360 Speaker 2: In most biographies of Mary Mcleodbethune, her husband Albertas just 135 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 2: sort of disappears to an extent. Her son does as well. 136 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 2: She was intensely private about her personal life. This was 137 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 2: something that was necessary given society's expectations of women, especially 138 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 2: of black women, and the need to always be seen 139 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 2: as respectable in her public persona. She gave an interview 140 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:36,560 Speaker 2: much later on in her life, in which she described 141 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:39,439 Speaker 2: her husband as a fine young man with a beautiful 142 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 2: tenor voice and an interest in their church activities, but 143 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:48,200 Speaker 2: not really in her educational pursuits. At the same time, 144 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 2: in the same interview, she said that their marriage and 145 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,479 Speaker 2: the birth of their child were not intended to impede 146 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,160 Speaker 2: to the things that she inspired that she aspired to do. 147 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 2: Seems like her husband didn't get in the way of 148 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 2: her work, but also didn't really participate in it. 149 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: Through a church connection, Bisune learned about a parochial school 150 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: in Palatka, Florida that needed a teacher, and the family 151 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:17,080 Speaker 1: moved there. She also made some extra money selling life 152 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: insurance to black families, and she continued doing what we 153 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: might think of as missionary and social work, like visiting 154 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: people who were being held in local jails. In nineteen 155 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:30,959 Speaker 1: oh two, she started trying to open a school of 156 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,560 Speaker 1: her own. She wrote to people like Booker T. Washington 157 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:36,559 Speaker 1: and Robert Curtis Ogden to try to get their support 158 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,920 Speaker 1: and funding. This kind of fundraising is something she would 159 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,400 Speaker 1: continue to do for the rest of her career, including 160 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: later on writing to Julius ROSENWALDT We talked about Rosenwald's 161 00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:51,559 Speaker 1: efforts to fund schools for black children in August twenty 162 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:55,960 Speaker 1: twenty one, when Holly interviewed Andrew Feiler about his book 163 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: on these schools. In nineteen oh four, the family moved 164 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: to Daytona Beach. Bethune had heard that a school was 165 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: desperately needed there and also thought there might be more 166 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: opportunities than she had had in Palatka. She opened the 167 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:14,960 Speaker 1: Daytona Beach Literary and Industrial School for training Negro girls. 168 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,840 Speaker 1: The school started out, in her words, with quote five 169 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,960 Speaker 1: little girls, a dollar and a half and faith in God. 170 00:10:22,800 --> 00:10:25,839 Speaker 1: She taught reading, writing, and home economics, and her six 171 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: year old son was also a student. At first, the 172 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 1: school occupied one room in a cabin that she was renting, 173 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 1: and since they had no furniture, the students sat on 174 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:40,760 Speaker 1: dry goods boxes. But this school grew rapidly, and within 175 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: just two years she had two hundred and fifty students. 176 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 1: Sometime around nineteen oh seven, Bethune's marriage ended for all 177 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: practical purposes, and her husband returned to South Carolina. There's 178 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:57,840 Speaker 1: no real documentation of what happened, but since he died 179 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:02,440 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighteen of tuberculosis. There's some speculation that maybe 180 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:05,320 Speaker 1: he was ill and he needed more care than she 181 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 1: could provide for him, so he returned to his family. 182 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:12,120 Speaker 1: Bethune never remarried, and she listed her status on the 183 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: nineteen ten census as widowed. Her work with the school 184 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:19,400 Speaker 1: continued after this, and we'll get into that after a 185 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:20,280 Speaker 1: sponsor break. 186 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 2: The school Mary McLeod Bethune established in Daytona Beach continued 187 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 2: to grow through the early nineteen hundreds, and in nineteen 188 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 2: oh seven she raised money to buy land for a 189 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 2: new campus. That was land that the city had previously 190 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,320 Speaker 2: been using as a dump site, so there was also 191 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,880 Speaker 2: cleanup involved. The first new building to be constructed there 192 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 2: was called Faith Hall, and later editions would include things 193 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 2: like an administration building with an auditorium and more classroom space. 194 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:01,679 Speaker 2: This on its own was an enormous effort, and it 195 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:05,160 Speaker 2: wasn't the only thing that Bethune was doing. In nineteen 196 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 2: oh seven, she also established a mission to provide aid 197 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:12,120 Speaker 2: and education to turpentine workers who were living in camps 198 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:16,319 Speaker 2: outside of the city. Due to segregation, Daytona Beach and 199 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 2: the surrounding area had no hospital that would treat black patients, 200 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,600 Speaker 2: so in nineteen eleven, Bethune opened one, naming it McLeod 201 00:12:24,679 --> 00:12:28,320 Speaker 2: Hospital after her parents. It started out with just a 202 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 2: couple of beds, and it was staffed by doctors as 203 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,400 Speaker 2: well as students at a nursing program that she also established. 204 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:38,320 Speaker 2: That hospital ran until nineteen twenty seven, and during those 205 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,839 Speaker 2: years many of its patients received care for free because 206 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 2: they had no money to pay. Bethune realized she needed 207 00:12:46,240 --> 00:12:50,080 Speaker 2: a partner to help her manage this ever growing school, 208 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:52,480 Speaker 2: and in nineteen twelve she went to New York to 209 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 2: try to convince Francis Reynolds Kaiser to come to Florida 210 00:12:56,520 --> 00:13:00,520 Speaker 2: and work with her. Bethune knew Kaiser by reputae, but 211 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 2: not personally. Kaiser was a respected educator who had previously 212 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:07,440 Speaker 2: started a school for black children in Florida that had 213 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 2: run for four years. When she and Bethune met, Kaiser 214 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,680 Speaker 2: was director of the White Rose Mission, which was focused 215 00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:17,000 Speaker 2: on the needs of black women and girls who had 216 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:19,320 Speaker 2: just arrived in New York from the South. 217 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: This mission offered. 218 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 2: Services like traveler's aid, shelter, job training, and assistance in 219 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,720 Speaker 2: finding work. After they talked, Kaiser agreed to come and 220 00:13:29,760 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 2: the two women immediately committed themselves to both a personal 221 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 2: and a professional relationship, in Bethune's words, pledging their allegiance 222 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 2: to God and to each other on bended knees and 223 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,280 Speaker 2: with clasped hands in her rented room in New York. 224 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 2: Bithune and Kaiser lived and worked together for the next 225 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 2: twelve years until Kaiser became disabled due to arthritis and 226 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 2: other medical conditions and decided to return to New York. 227 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 2: The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on all 228 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,959 Speaker 2: August eighteenth, nineteen twenty, giving women the right to vote 229 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:07,320 Speaker 2: across the United States. As we've talked about on the 230 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:11,760 Speaker 2: show several times before, because of things like discriminatory laws 231 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:16,720 Speaker 2: and voter intimidation. In practice, this mostly applied to white women. 232 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 2: Recognizing all of this, Bethune started a massive voter registration 233 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 2: campaign four black women in Daytona Beach, and in response, 234 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 2: she was targeted by the Ku Klux Klan, including clan 235 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:33,000 Speaker 2: members marching on her school while the students were there. 236 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:37,240 Speaker 2: She did not back down, though she also continued to 237 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 2: face this kind of harassment and retaliation for her work 238 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 2: throughout her life, including from the Klan and then later 239 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:47,840 Speaker 2: on during the McCarthy era from people who baselessly accused her. 240 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:52,080 Speaker 1: Of being a communist. By nineteen twenty, Bethune School had 241 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 1: grown to the point that it was the second largest 242 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 1: school for black girls and young women in the United States, 243 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:02,160 Speaker 1: behind Spelman's Seminary in it Atlanta. That year, she was 244 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: also elected to the National Urban League's executive board. In 245 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:08,920 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty three, she became the first woman to serve 246 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:13,200 Speaker 1: as president of the National Association of Teachers of Colored Schools. 247 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: A year later, she was elected president of the National 248 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 1: Association of Colored Women's Clubs, which at the time was 249 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:24,320 Speaker 1: the largest political organization for black women in the United States. 250 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:27,760 Speaker 2: In nineteen twenty seven, Bethune met some people who would 251 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 2: go on to have a huge impact on the next 252 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 2: years of her life, and the same was true of 253 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 2: her impact on them. They were Eleanor and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 254 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:41,120 Speaker 2: Franklin's mother, Sarah, was hosting a meeting for the leaders 255 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 2: of prominent women's groups at her home. As the story goes, 256 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:49,280 Speaker 2: Bethune was the only black person there and everybody was 257 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:53,240 Speaker 2: avoiding her, but Eleanor Roosevelt made a point of sitting 258 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 2: next to her. 259 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: Bethune and Roosevelt were close friends and colleagues for the 260 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 1: rest of their lives, and their friendship was mutually beneficial 261 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: for both of them. Bethune was a huge source of 262 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,360 Speaker 1: insight and knowledge for Roosevelt as she approached her own 263 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 1: work on social and political issues, including women's rights. Bethune 264 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,280 Speaker 1: was already highly respected as an educator, and she had 265 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 1: an influential leadership role in multiple national organizations focused on 266 00:16:20,320 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 1: education and civil rights for black people, but starting in 267 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,080 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty three, her relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt also gave 268 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:32,520 Speaker 1: her direct, ongoing access to the President of the United States. 269 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: Bethune had been involved with other presidential administrations before this, 270 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 1: including attending presidential conferences on child welfare during the presidencies 271 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 1: of Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. She always stressed that 272 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:51,280 Speaker 1: she was an educator, not a politician, but she also 273 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: deeply understood that no matter how hard black educators, organizers, 274 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: and activists worked, and how much they did for themselves, 275 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 1: there needed to be robust government policies on issues like education, housing, 276 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:10,520 Speaker 1: voting rights, racial integration, and civil rights to make real change. 277 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 1: Bethune's involvement with Roosevelt in his administration also led her 278 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,399 Speaker 1: to change her political party from Republicans a Democrat, and 279 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:21,679 Speaker 1: she campaigned for his re election in nineteen thirty six. 280 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,320 Speaker 1: To circle back to the school, in nineteen twenty nine, 281 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:30,640 Speaker 1: Daytona Beach Literary and Industrial School merged with the Cookman Institute, 282 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: originally the Cookman Institute for Boys of Jacksonville, Florida. The 283 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:39,919 Speaker 1: combined institute was initially called the Daytona Cookman Collegiate Institute, 284 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:43,920 Speaker 1: and it was affiliated with the Methodist Church. Bisune hoped 285 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 1: that this connection to the church would bring more consistent 286 00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 1: funding to the school. Although this did work to an extent, 287 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:54,120 Speaker 1: the school didn't get as much funding as she had hoped, 288 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 1: and Bisune had to do extensive fundraising during the Great 289 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,439 Speaker 1: Depression to try to offset that short form. During the 290 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: work and strain of all of this, at one point 291 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:07,280 Speaker 1: she collapsed and had to spend several months in the hospital. 292 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:10,840 Speaker 1: The institute survived the Great Depression, though, and it was 293 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,879 Speaker 1: accredited by the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of 294 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:18,480 Speaker 1: the Southern States as a junior college. In nineteen thirty two. 295 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:24,320 Speaker 1: It began awarding its first baccalaureate degrees in nineteen forty three. 296 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:27,639 Speaker 1: Today it's known as BIS June Cookman University and it 297 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:29,800 Speaker 1: has more than three thousand students. 298 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:34,439 Speaker 2: In nineteen thirty two, Francis Reynolds Kaiser died at the 299 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:37,600 Speaker 2: age of sixty seven. Although she hadn't been able to 300 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,440 Speaker 2: do physical work during the last years of her life 301 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:43,760 Speaker 2: because of her health and her disabilities, she had continued 302 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:47,880 Speaker 2: to write and to advocate. Through writing, Bethune had helped 303 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 2: to support her financially, and after her death wrote a 304 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 2: memorial in which she described Kaiser as a rare gift 305 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:57,760 Speaker 2: of providence and their personal and professional relationship as a 306 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,920 Speaker 2: quote spiritual union and community union that can never be described. 307 00:19:02,760 --> 00:19:06,159 Speaker 2: In nineteen thirty five, Bethune became the founding president of 308 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:10,720 Speaker 2: the National Council of Negro Women, or NCNW, serving in 309 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:14,359 Speaker 2: that role until nineteen forty nine. That same year, she 310 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,719 Speaker 2: was awarded the Spingarn Award, which is the NAACP's highest honor. 311 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:23,400 Speaker 2: From nineteen thirty six to nineteen forty two, Bethune partially 312 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:27,080 Speaker 2: stepped back from her role as president of Bethune Cookman 313 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:29,920 Speaker 2: College so that she could spend more time in Washington 314 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 2: d C. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had named her Director 315 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:38,920 Speaker 2: of Negro Affairs at the National Youth Administration. The National 316 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,679 Speaker 2: Youth Administration was part of the New Deal, and it 317 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:45,399 Speaker 2: was set up as a department under the Works Progress Administration. 318 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 2: The National Youth Administration provided education, training, and work study 319 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:54,440 Speaker 2: programs for people between the ages of sixteen and twenty five. 320 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,240 Speaker 2: Bethune recognized that black people would be left out of 321 00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:02,760 Speaker 2: New Deal programs unless black communities advocated for their inclusion, 322 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,840 Speaker 2: and the government intentionally worked to do that. So she 323 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:11,000 Speaker 2: did extensive work to promote National Youth Administration programs and 324 00:20:11,119 --> 00:20:15,560 Speaker 2: outreach specifically for black youth, and to promote the involvement 325 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:19,480 Speaker 2: of young black people in these government programs. She was 326 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:23,959 Speaker 2: so effective at doing this that the Roosevelt administration established 327 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:28,440 Speaker 2: a whole new department, the Division of Negro Affairs, ultimately 328 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,639 Speaker 2: making Bethune its director in nineteen thirty eight. She remained 329 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 2: in this role until nineteen forty four. During this time, 330 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 2: she retired as president of Bethune Cookman College, in part 331 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 2: because she experienced a serious illness, but then she returned 332 00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:47,879 Speaker 2: to that role in nineteen forty six to add to 333 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,560 Speaker 2: all of her other leadership roles. She became vice president 334 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 2: of the NAACP in nineteen forty and she held that 335 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:57,399 Speaker 2: position for the rest of her life. And she was 336 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 2: also one of the educators who came together to establish 337 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 2: the United Negro College Fund in nineteen forty four. During 338 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 2: these years in Washington, Bethune was also part of an 339 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 2: informal group of presidential advisors known as the Federal Council 340 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 2: on Negro Affairs, more commonly known as the Black Cabinet 341 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:20,120 Speaker 2: or the Black brain Trust. This started with a group 342 00:21:20,119 --> 00:21:23,120 Speaker 2: of just a handful of people who met at Bethune's Washington, 343 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:23,440 Speaker 2: d c. 344 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: Home to talk about how they could work together and, 345 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: in her words, quote give momentum to the great ball 346 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:33,200 Speaker 1: that is starting to roll for Negroes. This group grew 347 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,560 Speaker 1: eventually involving more than fifty people who were working in 348 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,840 Speaker 1: various positions within the executive branch of the government and 349 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: New Deal agencies. Bethune was particularly prominent and influential among 350 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:49,480 Speaker 1: this group, both because of her experienced knowledge and ongoing advocacy, 351 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: and also because her friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt gave her 352 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 1: so much access to the president In addition to working 353 00:21:57,240 --> 00:22:00,280 Speaker 1: to make sure that black people and communities had access 354 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:04,160 Speaker 1: to New Deal programs, this group advocated for the federal 355 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,760 Speaker 1: government to take a stand against lynching and to work 356 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:12,720 Speaker 1: to abolish discriminatory poll taxes and unpassable literacy tests that 357 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: were preventing black people from exercising their right to vote. 358 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:21,400 Speaker 1: They also advocated for anti discrimination efforts within the federal government. 359 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,359 Speaker 1: This advocacy took place publicly and behind the scenes, and 360 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:29,680 Speaker 1: it also involved people outside of Washington, d c. For example, 361 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:32,840 Speaker 1: we've talked about the efforts of a. Philip Randolph in 362 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: the Brotherhood of Sleeping car Porters in our prior episodes 363 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:37,640 Speaker 1: on each of them. 364 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:42,040 Speaker 2: On June twenty fifth, nineteen forty one, President Roosevelt issued 365 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:46,800 Speaker 2: Executive Order eighty eight O two prohibiting race based discrimination 366 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 2: in the defense industry and in the federal government. Afterward, 367 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:55,320 Speaker 2: Bethune wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, thanking her for her support 368 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 2: and encouraging the President to do this. Of course, this 369 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,800 Speaker 2: executive order was connected to World War Two, and we're 370 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:04,800 Speaker 2: going to get into that after we paused for a 371 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 2: sponsor break. Executive Order eighty eight two was issued before 372 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:22,440 Speaker 2: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and the US 373 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:27,640 Speaker 2: declaration of war against Japan. But war related industries had 374 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 2: already been scaling up, both because the United States was 375 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:35,240 Speaker 2: offering support to the Allied nations and because of the 376 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:38,879 Speaker 2: possibility that the US would become directly involved in the 377 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:43,120 Speaker 2: Second World War. This had created a ton of new jobs, 378 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,439 Speaker 2: and Executive Order eighty eight O two was meant to 379 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,159 Speaker 2: help make sure that those jobs would be open to 380 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 2: black workers, and that black people would also be able 381 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,639 Speaker 2: to work in them without facing racism or harassment on 382 00:23:55,760 --> 00:24:00,400 Speaker 2: the job. There was also ongoing advocacy for the millitary 383 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,920 Speaker 2: to be racially integrated, but that integration did not happen 384 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 2: until after the war. Once the US became directly involved 385 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,040 Speaker 2: in World War Two, Bethune also advocated for black people 386 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:15,120 Speaker 2: to serve in the armed forces. In her words quote 387 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:19,200 Speaker 2: this is America's war and we two are Americans. In 388 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,639 Speaker 2: nineteen forty two, Bethune was part of the board that 389 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 2: established the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps later the Women's Army Corps, 390 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,560 Speaker 2: and she worked to ensure that there would also be 391 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 2: units established for black women. One of these units was 392 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:37,199 Speaker 2: the six Triple eight Central Postal Directory Battalion. Our episode 393 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,200 Speaker 2: on Them ran as a Saturday Classic on March twenty six, 394 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,879 Speaker 2: twenty twenty two, and the movie On Them is, of 395 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:47,160 Speaker 2: course what inspired this episode. Bethune advocated for black women 396 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:50,560 Speaker 2: to be included in the navvies women accepted for Volunteer 397 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:55,040 Speaker 2: Emergency Services or waves as well. She was also named 398 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:58,400 Speaker 2: an Honorary General in the Women's Army for National Defense 399 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:02,080 Speaker 2: that was a volunteer organization for black women in support 400 00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 2: of the war effort. In addition to her focus on 401 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:09,960 Speaker 2: black women, Bethune also advocated for traditionally black colleges and 402 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 2: universities to be included in the Civilian Pilot Training Program, 403 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:19,000 Speaker 2: which brought new opportunities to train as pilots. One of 404 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,840 Speaker 2: the most famous units to come from this program was 405 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:23,600 Speaker 2: the Tuskegee Airmen. 406 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:24,919 Speaker 1: Although there were black. 407 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:27,640 Speaker 2: Women who trained as pilots through these programs, the Women 408 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,719 Speaker 2: Air Force Service pilots, who we have also covered on 409 00:25:30,760 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 2: the show did not include black women. In the last 410 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:37,239 Speaker 2: months of World War II, a conference was held in 411 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:41,280 Speaker 2: San Francisco, California, to draft the charter for an international 412 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:44,760 Speaker 2: organization that would work to help preserve peace around the world. 413 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 2: The result was the United Nations, which was formally established 414 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:53,160 Speaker 2: on October twenty fourth, nineteen forty five. Bethune was one 415 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,439 Speaker 2: of the delegates to this conference, appointed by President Harry 416 00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:00,159 Speaker 2: AS Truman. She advocated for the UN Charter TiO to 417 00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 2: include a focus on equal rights regardless of race, sex, 418 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,159 Speaker 2: and religion. She later wrote an open letter about this 419 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 2: work in which she said, quote through this conference, the 420 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:13,920 Speaker 2: negro becomes closely allied with the darker races of the world, 421 00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:18,000 Speaker 2: but more importantly, he becomes integrated into the structure of 422 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:23,200 Speaker 2: the peace and freedom of all people everywhere. That same year, 423 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:27,640 Speaker 2: Bethune started working with real estate developers to form Bethunevlusha 424 00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:32,119 Speaker 2: Beach Corporation. Its purpose was to buy ocean front property 425 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:35,760 Speaker 2: in Daytona Beach to establish a beach that was not 426 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:38,320 Speaker 2: only accessible to black people, but was. 427 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 1: Also black owned. 428 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:43,680 Speaker 2: A few years later, Bethune also pooled funds with three 429 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,159 Speaker 2: other investors to start a hotel there that would welcome 430 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:48,080 Speaker 2: black visitors. 431 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:51,720 Speaker 1: In October of twenty twenty two, we did an episode 432 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:55,080 Speaker 1: on Paul Robison and the Peaskill Riots, and we talked 433 00:26:55,119 --> 00:26:59,000 Speaker 1: about how he faced widespread condemnation after a performance and 434 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:02,639 Speaker 1: speech at the Paris Peace Congress in nineteen forty nine. 435 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:07,040 Speaker 1: English language news reports, one of them, filed before he 436 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 1: had even started to speak, didn't match up to a 437 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:14,560 Speaker 1: French transcript of his extemporaneous remarks, and claimed that he 438 00:27:14,600 --> 00:27:18,920 Speaker 1: had compared the US government to Hitler and Gebels. Prominent 439 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:22,399 Speaker 1: Black figures were called on to denounce Robison in his remarks, 440 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: including Bethune, who said quote, mister Robison does not speak 441 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:30,000 Speaker 1: for Negroes who have always remained loyal to American ideals, 442 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,920 Speaker 1: even when there are weak points in those ideals. 443 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,640 Speaker 2: Butthoon traveled in the United States and internationally at various 444 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:42,439 Speaker 2: points in her life, but two notable trips took place 445 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:46,879 Speaker 2: after World War II. One was to Haiti in nineteen 446 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 2: forty nine, where she was invited to receive the Medal 447 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 2: of Honor and Merit, which was Haiti's highest civilian honor. Then, 448 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:57,040 Speaker 2: in nineteen fifty two, at the age of seventy six, 449 00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:00,400 Speaker 2: she finally fulfilled her dream of going to Africa as 450 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:04,520 Speaker 2: part of a delegation to Liberia from President Harry Truman. 451 00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:09,080 Speaker 2: While there, she was also awarded Liberia's highest Medal, which 452 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:12,720 Speaker 2: was the Order of the Star of Africa. Mary McLeod 453 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,720 Speaker 2: Bethune retired as president of Bethune Workman College in nineteen 454 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:19,560 Speaker 2: forty eight and as president of the National Council of 455 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 2: Negro Women NCNW in nineteen forty nine. She had been 456 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 2: writing extensively for newspapers, journals, and magazines, and she continued 457 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,680 Speaker 2: to do this after her retirement from other more active roles. 458 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:36,600 Speaker 2: This included writing a regular column for The Chicago Defender. 459 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:40,960 Speaker 2: In nineteen fifty three, she established the Mary McLeod Bethune 460 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:45,200 Speaker 2: Foundation on the Bethune Cookman campus to house her papers 461 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,160 Speaker 2: and to continue her work and legacy. She also gave 462 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 2: her on campus home, which she called the Refuge to 463 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 2: the Foundation. Mary McLoud Bethune died of a heart attack 464 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:59,600 Speaker 2: at home on May eighteenth, nineteen fifty five, at the 465 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 2: age of five seventy nine. She was buried on the campus 466 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:07,680 Speaker 2: of Bethune Cookman University two days later. Eleanor Roosevelt wrote 467 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 2: about her in her My Day column. Roosevelt described Bethune 468 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:14,200 Speaker 2: as having a deep religious faith that was both a 469 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:17,360 Speaker 2: weapon and a shield, and is thinking that God would 470 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:19,720 Speaker 2: hear her prayers if the things she was asking for 471 00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:24,160 Speaker 2: were good. In Roosevelt's words, quote, she helped herself and 472 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:27,720 Speaker 2: the Lord helped her. This mirrored something that beth June 473 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:30,440 Speaker 2: had liked to say about herself, which is that I 474 00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:35,440 Speaker 2: have faith in God and Mary Bethune. Before her death, 475 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,960 Speaker 2: Bethune had written what she called her Last Will and Testament. 476 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 2: This is not a legal document, but a reflection on 477 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:44,960 Speaker 2: her work and what she felt she was leaving to 478 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,600 Speaker 2: the world. This was published in Ebony magazine in August 479 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:53,120 Speaker 2: of nineteen fifty five and has been widely reprinted since then. 480 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 2: She wrote about realizing that death would overtake her before 481 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,680 Speaker 2: the greatest of her dreams could be re reed, that being, 482 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:05,280 Speaker 2: in her words quote, full equality for the negro in 483 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:09,320 Speaker 2: our time. Her Last Will and Testament described her thoughts 484 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 2: on leaving a legacy involving things like love, hope, racial dignity, 485 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 2: and a desire to live harmoniously with your fellow man. 486 00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:21,360 Speaker 2: It's a really beautiful essay and you can find it 487 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:25,240 Speaker 2: online at the Bethune Cookman University website and in many 488 00:30:25,320 --> 00:30:29,960 Speaker 2: other places. During her lifetime, Mary mcleodbith June was awarded 489 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:35,400 Speaker 2: eleven honorary degrees, including nine honorary doctorates. She had become 490 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 2: known across the US as the First Lady of the 491 00:30:38,040 --> 00:30:42,320 Speaker 2: Struggle or the first Lady of Negro America. In nineteen 492 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 2: seventy three, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall 493 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:48,360 Speaker 2: of Fame. A year later, a statue of her was 494 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:52,720 Speaker 2: unveiled at Lincoln Park, Washington, d C. Commissioned using funds 495 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,920 Speaker 2: raised by the NCNW, it depicts her with two children. 496 00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:58,200 Speaker 2: She's holding her. 497 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:00,840 Speaker 1: Cane in one hand. She pad the whole collection of 498 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:04,120 Speaker 1: them because she thought they conferred dignity, or, as she 499 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,480 Speaker 1: phrased it, it gave her swank. This was the first 500 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,920 Speaker 1: memorial to a black person in a public park in Washington, 501 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,840 Speaker 1: d C. Bethune was also on a postage stamp in 502 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty five, making her the second black woman to 503 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:22,920 Speaker 1: be depicted on a US postage stamp. Her townhouse in Washington, 504 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,480 Speaker 1: d C, that had served as the headquarters for the 505 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:29,960 Speaker 1: nc and W became Mary McLeod Bethune Council House, part 506 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:33,719 Speaker 1: of the National Park System in nineteen ninety five. The 507 00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:36,880 Speaker 1: council House is also home to the National Archives for 508 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:42,520 Speaker 1: Black Women's History and the NCNW still exists today. Her 509 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:46,400 Speaker 1: former home on the Bethune Cookman University campus is also 510 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:51,320 Speaker 1: now the Mary McLoud Bethune Foundation National Historic Landmark. On 511 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 1: January thirteenth, twenty twenty two, a statue of her was 512 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: placed in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, d C. 513 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:03,200 Speaker 1: Replacing a stafe of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith as 514 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:05,480 Speaker 1: one of the two statues from the state of Florida. 515 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:09,280 Speaker 1: She is sculpted in white, wearing academic garb with a 516 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:11,440 Speaker 1: mortar board with a cane in one hand and a 517 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:14,760 Speaker 1: black rose in the other. She had started referring to 518 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:18,360 Speaker 1: her students as black roses after seeing some growing in 519 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:22,360 Speaker 1: a Swiss garden. This sculpture was made by Nilda Komas, 520 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:25,480 Speaker 1: the first person of Puerto Rican descent to sculpt a 521 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:30,560 Speaker 1: statue for the National Statuary Hall Collection. Both the monument 522 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:33,920 Speaker 1: in Lincoln Park and the statue in the National Statuary 523 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:38,720 Speaker 1: Hall Collection reference Bethune's last Will and Testament. The Lincoln 524 00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,960 Speaker 1: Park memorial has a bronze band that runs around the 525 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,720 Speaker 1: base reading quote I leave you love, I leave you hope, 526 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:49,080 Speaker 1: I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. 527 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,560 Speaker 1: I leave you a thirst for education. I leave you 528 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:55,680 Speaker 1: a respect for the use of power. I leave you 529 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:59,240 Speaker 1: also a desire to live harmoniously with your fellow man. 530 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:02,160 Speaker 1: I leave you you faith, I leave you racial dignity. 531 00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,920 Speaker 1: I leave you finally, a responsibility to our young people. 532 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,400 Speaker 1: And then the statue in the National Statuary Hall has 533 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:12,160 Speaker 1: a stack of books at her feet, and the one 534 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:14,840 Speaker 1: on top with the visible cover says I leave you 535 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,960 Speaker 1: on the cover, and then the spines reference the things 536 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 1: that she left. That's Mariam Cloud Bethune. She's amazing. 537 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:28,520 Speaker 2: She's really truly amazing. I also have some listener mail 538 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:32,800 Speaker 2: from Kyle. Kyle wrote, high, Holly and Tracy, you two 539 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:35,720 Speaker 2: do such a fantastic job. I've never felt the need 540 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,040 Speaker 2: to write in I was listening to the first part 541 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 2: of Eli S. Parker, and as you were talking about 542 00:33:41,120 --> 00:33:44,040 Speaker 2: him living along the Grand River and working with the Army, 543 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:47,920 Speaker 2: I was driving over the Grand River in Kitchener, Ontario. 544 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:50,880 Speaker 2: That felt like a sign that I should email my 545 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 2: two favorite history teachers and let them know how much 546 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:56,680 Speaker 2: I appreciate the content and lessons you put out each week. 547 00:33:57,160 --> 00:33:59,920 Speaker 2: I also wanted to mention briefly the history of kitchen, 548 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 2: which you both might find interesting. Prior to World War One, 549 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:08,759 Speaker 2: it had a very large German population and was named Berlin. Obviously, 550 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,000 Speaker 2: this wasn't a good look for the town and it 551 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 2: had an amusing naming vote during this period. There was 552 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:18,279 Speaker 2: also an army recruiting officer that formed a gang of 553 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:23,680 Speaker 2: youths to intimidate enlistments, and a stolen bust of Kaiser Wilhelm. 554 00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:26,440 Speaker 2: I doubt any of this would make a good episode, 555 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:27,880 Speaker 2: but I think it has the charm to make a 556 00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:30,960 Speaker 2: segment on a Six Impossible Stories episode. Thanks so much 557 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,560 Speaker 2: for all the content and making my drive more enjoyable. 558 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:38,240 Speaker 2: Here is your pet, tax Odin, all gray, no teeth, 559 00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:41,399 Speaker 2: one eye. Odin is a great name for a one 560 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:46,680 Speaker 2: eyed animal. Jellybean white and gray ham all black, bagel, 561 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:51,000 Speaker 2: obnoxiously cute little kitten all the best Kyle. So yes, 562 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:56,759 Speaker 2: we have four very adorable pictures of very adorable animals. 563 00:34:56,200 --> 00:35:02,200 Speaker 1: Babies of I looked a little bit into this whole 564 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:08,840 Speaker 1: renaming of Berlin into Kitchener story, and it does seem 565 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 1: like it was a wild ride. So I don't know. 566 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:18,040 Speaker 1: Maybe it will be a Six Impossible Episodes one day, 567 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:22,200 Speaker 1: maybe not. Who can say, But I did amuse myself 568 00:35:22,239 --> 00:35:23,360 Speaker 1: reading about it this morning. 569 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:25,600 Speaker 2: It is hard to say which of these cats I 570 00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:31,479 Speaker 2: think is the cutest cat. I mean there's something about 571 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:34,520 Speaker 2: a one eyed yeah, you know, just a cat that's 572 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:36,479 Speaker 2: got a little bit of a scruffy look as great. 573 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 1: Yeah. 574 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:40,480 Speaker 2: Well, and then since Odin is all gray, no teeth, 575 00:35:40,560 --> 00:35:43,160 Speaker 2: one eye, I also have a fondness my cats do 576 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:44,280 Speaker 2: have some teeth. 577 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:49,080 Speaker 1: They both have fewer teeth right than they started with, 578 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:54,840 Speaker 1: because they are both apparently genetically prone to some dental problems, 579 00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:59,440 Speaker 1: regardless of how much work we put into Yeah, at 580 00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:04,160 Speaker 1: our house we had two littermates. We still have Ozol. 581 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:08,080 Speaker 1: His littermate clearly had a different dad than him because 582 00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:12,200 Speaker 1: he got the genetic bad teeth situation. And Ozl has 583 00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:18,160 Speaker 1: never had a tooth issue. And I'm yeah, yeah, So 584 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:22,279 Speaker 1: thank you again so much for this email, Kyle. If 585 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:24,400 Speaker 1: you'd like to send us a note about this or 586 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:29,000 Speaker 1: any other podcast, we're at History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 587 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:32,600 Speaker 1: You can subscribe to the show also on the iHeartRadio 588 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:36,880 Speaker 1: app or wherever else you like to get your podcasts. 589 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:43,880 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 590 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:48,799 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, 591 00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:50,960 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.