Mary McLeod Bethune Timeline

Mary McLeod Bethune joined the Equal Suffrage League, an organization branched off of the National Association of Colored Women, in 1912, advancing her activism for women's rights.

Bethune served as the Florida chapter president of the National Association of Colored Women from 1917 to 1925. The NACW had been formed in 1896 to promote the needs of Black women.

Image source: National Association of Colored Women's Clubs

The Southeastern Federation of Colored Women's Clubs elected Bethune as president after its first conference in 1920 at the Tuskegee Institute. The organization worked to improve opportunities for Black women.

She served as the 8th national president of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs from 1924–1928, succeeding Hallie Quinn Brown, and implemented the purchase of headquarters at 1318 Vermont Avenue in Washington, D.C.

Bethune wrote prolifically, publishing in several periodicals from 1924 to 1955, sharing her views on education, race relations, and women's leadership.

In 1931, Daytona's public hospital, Halifax, agreed to open a separate hospital for people of color, following years of advocacy including Bethune's pioneering McLeod Hospital.

In 1935 Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) in New York City, bringing together representatives of 28 different organizations to work to improve the lives of Black women and their communities. She also established the Aframerican Women's Journal, the flagship journal of the organization.

Image source: National Council of Negro Women

In 1938, the NCNW hosted the White House Conference on Negro Women and Children, demonstrating the importance of Black women in democratic roles.

At the Southern Conference on Human Welfare in 1938, held in Birmingham, Alabama, Eleanor Roosevelt requested a seat next to Bethune despite state segregation laws, a powerful symbol against Jim Crow.

Image source: Eleanor Roosevelt

Bethune co-founded the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) on April 25, 1944, with William J. Trent Jr. She helped with its initial fundraising efforts, which gathered around $900,000 (equivalent to $16,500,000 in 2025) in six months.

Image source: UNCF

Bethune continued to refer philanthropists to the fund, and she joined the board of directors in 1952.

Gaining a national reputation, in 1928 Bethune was invited to attend the Child Welfare Conference called by Republican President Calvin Coolidge.

Image source: Calvin Coolidge

In 1930, President Herbert Hoover appointed Bethune to the White House Conference on Child Health, recognizing her expertise in education and child welfare.

Image source: Herbert Hoover

In 1930, journalist Ida Tarbell included Bethune as number 10 on her list of America's greatest women.

Image source: Ida Tarbell

After working on the presidential campaign for Franklin Roosevelt in 1932, Bethune was appointed as a national advisor and worked with Roosevelt to create the Federal Council on Colored Affairs, also known as the Black Cabinet.

Image source: 1932 United States presidential election

Shortly after joining the National Youth Administration in 1935, Bethune became the first Black woman to lead a federal agency when she was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She earned a full-time staff position in 1936 as an assistant.

The director of the NYA said in 1939: "No one can do what Mrs. Bethune does," acknowledging her unmatched effectiveness in advocating for minority youth.

On September 19, 1942, she gave the address at the Los Angeles, California, launching ceremony for the Liberty ship Booker T. Washington.

Image source: SS Booker T. Washington

The National Youth Administration, where Bethune had served as a leading advisor and champion of minority involvement, was terminated in 1943.

Image source: National Youth Administration

Bethune was the only Black woman present at the founding of the United Nations in San Francisco in 1945, representing the NAACP with W. E. B. Du Bois.

Image source: United Nations Conference on International Organization

Bethune was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 1935 by the NAACP, one of the highest honors given to an African American for outstanding achievement.

Image source: Spingarn Medal

In 1949, Bethune became the first woman to receive the National Order of Honour and Merit, Haiti's highest award, and also received Liberia's honor named after Tubman of Liberia in 1949.

On May 18, 1955, Mary McLeod Bethune died of a heart attack. The Christian Century suggested "the story of her life should be taught to every school child for generations to come." The New York Times noted she was "one of the most potent factors in the growth of interracial goodwill in America."

In 1973, Bethune was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, cementing her legacy as one of America's foremost women leaders.

Image source: National Women's Hall of Fame

On July 10, 1974, the anniversary of her 99th birthday, the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial, by artist Robert Berks, was erected in her honor in Lincoln Park in Washington, D.C.

Image source: Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial

In 1976, a portrait of Bethune, painted by artist Simmie Knox, was unveiled in the South Carolina House of Representatives.

Image source: Simmie Knox

In 1989, Ebony magazine listed Bethune as one of the "50 Most Important Figures in Black American History".

Image source: Ebony (magazine)

In 1994, the National Park Service acquired Bethune's last residence, the NACW Council House at 1318 Vermont Avenue, preserving it as a national historic site.

Image source: Mary McLeod Bethune

In 1999, Ebony included Bethune as one of the "100 Most Fascinating Black Women of the 20th century".

In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Bethune on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.

The Legislature of Florida in 2018 designated Bethune as the subject of one of Florida's two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection, replacing Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith.

In 2019, Time created 89 new covers to celebrate women of the year starting from 1920; it chose Bethune for 1934.

Image source: Time (magazine)

A statue of Bethune in Jersey City, New Jersey, was dedicated in 2021 in a namesake park across the street from the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center.

The statue of Mary McLeod Bethune was unveiled on July 13, 2022, in the United States Capitol, making her the first Black American represented in the National Statuary Hall Collection.

A bronze copy of the marble statue was completed by the same artist, Nilda Comas, and erected in Daytona Beach's riverfront park beside the News-Journal Center on August 18, 2022.

Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, where Bethune had enrolled in 1894, dedicated the "Bethune-Fitzwater Educational Building" on October 1, 2024, honoring her legacy at her alma mater.

Bethune appears as a character in the 2024 war film The Six Triple Eight, where she is depicted attempting to persuade Roosevelt of the importance of delivering mail to soldiers fighting in Europe.

Image source: The Six Triple Eight