Mary McLeod Bethune - Legacy

Legacy

In 1973, Mary McLeod Bethune was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame. In 1974, a sculpture was erected in her honor in Lincoln Park, Washington, D.C. by sculptor Robert Berks. Engraved in the side is a passage from her "Last Will and Testament":

I leave you love. I leave you hope. I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. I leave you a thirst for education. I leave you a respect for the use of power. I leave you faith. I leave you racial dignity. I leave you a desire to live harmoniously with your fellow men. I leave you, finally, a responsibility to our young people.

Approximately 250,000 people attended the unveiling ceremony, including Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to Congress.

In 1985 the US Postal Service issued a stamp in her honor. In 1989 Ebony Magazine listed her on their list of "50 Most Important Figures in Black US History", and named her again in 1999, Ebony Magazine included Mary McLeod Bethune as one of the 100 Most Fascinating Black Women of the 20th century. In 1991, the International Astronomical Union named the Bethune Patera on planet Venus in her honor. In 1994, the National Park Service acquired Bethune's last residence, the Council House at 1318 Vermont Avenue, NW: the headquarters for the NACW. It became the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site.

Schools are named in her honor in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, Dallas, Palm Beach, Florida, Moreno Valley, California, Minneapolis, Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Folkston and College Park, Georgia, New Orleans, Rochester, New York, and Jacksonville, Florida. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante listed Mary McLeod Bethune on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans.

In 2004, Bethune-Cookman University celebrated its 100-year anniversary. It currently sits on 82.2 acres (333,000 m2) in Daytona Beach. There are now 40 buildings that educate more than 3,000 students from almost every state in the United States and 35 countries, and the school is located on Mary Mcleod Bethune Boulevard, which was once 2nd Avenue. The university offers 35 majors in six major colleges: arts and humanities, business, education, nursing, social science, and science engineering. The university's website contends that, "the vision of the founder remains in full view over one-hundred years later. The institution prevails in order that others might improve their heads, hearts, and hands." The university's vice president recalled her legacy in saying, "During Mrs. Bethune's time, this was the only place in the city of Daytona Beach where Whites and Blacks could sit in the same room and enjoy what she called 'gems from students'—their recitations and songs. This is a person who was able to bring Black people and White together."

There is a historical marker in Mayesville, Sumter County, South Carolina, commemorating her birthplace.