I didn't plan to start Black History Month off with Mary McLeod Bethune because I think most people know who she is. Her legacy is pretty well preserved and she was one of the people I learned about as a child. However, when I read the quote above, I couldn't pass it up. Her quote says it plain and direct, we should never accept discrimination and we should never allow those who dole out discrimination to think we're OK with it.

When I posted this quote on Instagram (follow me!), I wanted information to place in the caption about her, so I went searching for more than what came to the top of my head. Even though she's a familiar name and face, I found out a lot more than what I'd previously known. I'll share what stood out to me, but you should go back a re-read her history too.

Everyone knows she was an educator and that the school she founded eventually became the school we know today as Bethune-Cookman University. What I didn't know is that she actually went to seminary school and originally sought do missionary work.[1] The young adult group at my church is currently doing small groups with The Purpose Driven Life and throughout the book, the author talks about how worshipping God and doing God's work isn't always the traditional or obvious methods. Dr. Bethune[2] may not be classified as missionary by most people, but she touched many lives and was able to proclaim the gospel while fighting social injustice. Fighting social injustice is missionary work.

I knew she was "from way back," but I never really processed what time period she lived in. Black history figures are usually categorized as slave era (i.e., Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman), civil rights era (i.e., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Rosa Parks), or modern (i.e., Barak Obama), but each of these eras cover large periods of time. I think this is one of the reasons we have so much trouble understanding the effects of slavery and racial discrimination on our country today. When I looked at Dr. Bethune's biography and saw the dates in which she lived and operated, I discovered a whole new layer of connection.

Possibly because her role in founding Bethune-Cookman is what I knew her best for, I always thought she was born and raised in Florida. To my surprise, she was born in Maysville, SC, just 1.5 hours away from my own hometown. Not that it matters to most of y'all, I found it quite interesting that her life took her from Maysville, SC to Central Florida, while mine took me from Conway, SC to Southern Florida.

I always thought of Dr. Bethune as an educator, but she was actually a businesswoman, too! She co-founded an insurance company and co-owned a resort.

She also founded the National Council for Negro Women, which still exists today. I didn't know this even existed. "NCNW’s mission is to lead, advocate for and empower women of African descent, their families and communities."[3]