Known as the “First Lady of the Struggle,” Mary McLeod Bethune was one of the most prominent African-American women of the 20th century.
Mary McLeod Bethune rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful educators, civil rights activists, and government officials devoted to changing the lives of African-Americans through education, political, and economic empowerment.Mary McLeod Bethune was best known for starting a school for African-American students in Daytona Beach, Florida, that eventually became Bethune-Cookman University. She strongly believed that education was the key to breaking racial barriers to promote racial advancement.
I am fortunate to have known a strong woman like that. She graduated from West Virginia State University at Institute in biology. But, unable to obtain a job in her field, she settled for teaching elementary school in inner-city Detroit. She taught her children science, entered them in science fairs to win awards, and followed some of them through graduate school and their careers.
Esther Cadell and her autoworker husband retired and returned to West Virginia to Morgantown, "to be close to West Virginia University. With my assistance, she got a small grant from the Department of Education to continue working with children and science.
