Mary McLeod Bethune

Hey guys! How is it goin'? Welcome to my first Social Studies Blog! So today we will be talking about the Civil War and one person to be exact. Let's get started!

Okay, so the person I will be talking about today is named Mary McLeod Bethune. You probably haven't heard of her but if you have kuddos to you!

So, Mary had a big part in helping slaves. She might not be well known, but she did some amazing things. Mary was actually the first born free slave in her family, she says it didn't stop the hardship though. She went to an all black school even after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Lincoln.

 Slaves might have been abolished in some states, but that doesn't mean segragation didn't exist. She might have been the only kid in her family that didn't physically work, but she worked her butt off in school. One white child told Mary that her skin was dirty and that she needed to go wash it clean. Mary told her that her skin was that color all the time and she was wrong. The white girl denied it and kept her belief.

The thing Mary is most known for is making an all black school, so blacks would be allowed to attend and learn just like whites. In Daytona, for example, there was not an all black school, so Mary tried to make one.

Mary felt the need to help African Americans out and the person who inspired her was her first teacher. She was named Miss Emma Wilson. She says her parents also helped, because if they wouldn't have sent her to school she would never have met Miss Wilson. She inspired her, because all the students said "She was a living example of what you can achieve when you have education in your life." Also, she was called "Miss" Wilson, and back then, it was an honor to have a "Miss," "Mr.," or "Mrs." before your last name.

Her greatest award was when she received the Spingarn Medal. It was awarded by the NAACP, and the medal honors the highest achieving American Negro of the previous year. "I feel it was my greatest honor because it was for helping black youth. I helped black youth by creating a school and by being a teacher at the school," said Mary.

She will be remembered for creating a school for blacks and not just for whites and for making a difference in black people's lives! 

 

"Sadly, Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune died on May 18, 1955, of a heart attack. She was buried on the grounds of The Retreat, her school farm. Her gravestone was simply marked, 'Mother.' In her will Mary wrote, 'I leave you, finally, a responsibility to our young people,'" a reporter reported.

RIP Mary McLeod Bethune 1875-1955

Next, I will be going over our Civil War field trip. So, we went to the Atlanta History Museum and we learned alot. Plus, it was kinda fun to pretend to be soldiers and civilians. We had a great tour guide and the museum is beautiful. I learned how civilians felt back then when war was happening around them. I also got to understand the soldiers' points of view. The best part about it all was that it was interactive. We didn't just listen to some boring old lady talk, we actually got to be hands on too! If you haven't been to the museum yet, I would recommend it. Well, that's all for today! I hope you enjoyed my blog! TTYL!

 

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