Bethune, Mary McLeod
1875-1955 · Contribution: 1904-1942
Education
Founded a school for Black girls in 1904 that grew into Bethune-Cookman University; first Black woman to lead a federal agency
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Impact on the world
Bethune built a lasting university from almost nothing and became the most powerful Black woman in American public life, opening federal policy and national organizing to Black women for the first time.
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National Women's History Museum
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