Pioneer African American educator, founder of Bethune—Cookman College, founder of national women's organizations, and an adviser to Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt during the New Deal, Mary McLeod Bethune is justifiably famous but often overlooked in the litany of contributors to African American development. This book is less biography and more a documentary testament to the many and diverse contributions of Bethune. Beginning with a biographical essay, the book brings together essays and letters on education and the founding of Bethune—Cookman, on black women and national organizations, the role of Mary McLeod Bethune in the New Deal, and her role in the UN and the post—war Civil Rights Movement. Each section has a brief interpretive section that connects Bethune's career and contributions to those of others, such as Booker T. Washington or Charles S. Johnson. There is also a detailed biographical time line and photographs. From this documentary portrait, a talented and multifaceted contributor to the black experience in the 20th—century US emerges. Much is owed to Bethune, and readers gain an appreciation of that debt. The book is grounded in secondary literature, including full—length biographies of the subject. Upper—division undergraduates and above.
T. F. Armstrong
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