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An honor long overdue

By Staff | Jul 15, 2022

The statue of a woman born to parents who were former slaves took its place this week in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol.

The statue of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune — a heart-felt believer in education for all who became a driving force for civil rights and an advisor to five presidents — is the first statue of a Black American to represent a U.S. state in the hall display which limits each to only two honorees to its collection.

Her statue replaces that of a Confederate general and stands now as a visible a symbol of how one person with will, belief, and yes, love in her heart, can better not only her own life but the lives of innumerable others.

“Today, on behalf of a grateful nation, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune will now permanently stand tall among historical giants where she belongs in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol,” said Congressman Rep. Byron Donalds, R-District 19, in a prepared statement issued Wednesday. “Her entrance into this collection makes her the first Black American to be commissioned by a state, and I am proud that she will now represent the people of Florida in this sacred location.

“As a Black American, I am particularly grateful for her invaluable contributions to Black Americans and the nation. As one of the most revered Black educators in history, a civil and women’s rights leader, and a pioneer for the advancement of Black Americans, she worked tirelessly to ensure our nation lived up to our God-given purpose and potential. While she has roots in several states, her remarkable life and legacy will now forever represent the Great State of Florida — and we are honored to have that privilege.”

The effort to have the statue installed in the hall has been long in the making, garnering support from then Gov. Rick Scott who signed the state legislation that started the official process five years ago.

Gov. Ron DeSantis took the next step in 2019 when he formally requested that Dr. Bethune represent Florida with U.S. Reps Val Demings, D-District 10, and Michael Waltz, R-District 6, introducing the bipartisan legislation for the statue’s inclusion in 2020.

Both hailed the unveiling of the work by sculptor Nilda Comas this week.

“Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune was the most powerful woman I can remember as a child,” Congresswoman Demings said Wednesday. “I am proud that Dr. Bethune will be Florida’s new face in the U.S. Capitol, and know that her lifelong commitment to education and civil rights will continue to inspire all Americans for years to come. I urge all Floridians to read Dr. Bethune’s last will and testament, in which she wrote of the power of hope, love, faith, responsibility to our young people, and thirst for education. She worked to make America better for all people, and it is more than fitting that she should be here representing us in the People’s House.”

Congressman Waltz thanked those who brought the inclusion of Dr. Bethune’s statue to fruition.

“What a great day for Daytona Beach, for Bethune-Cookman University, and for Florida for having the first-ever and only African American representing our state right here in our nation’s Capitol,” he said at the welcoming ceremony. “I’m so proud of the Florida Legislature, of then-Gov. Rick Scott who signed the legislation to make this happen, to Gov. Ron DeSantis who sent the request to allow us all to be here today.”

Congressman Waltz provided some historical context of the woman born shortly after the Civil War who started a children’s school in 1904.

“After she moved to Florida, she saw a need. She saw that the workers, the Black workers that were building the railroad, the Flagler Railroad that allowed Florida to one day be developed, weren’t getting an education. She saw a need and she addressed it. She started a school with a dollar and fifty cents to train African American young girls and to teach.

“It wasn’t without challenges, though. In one of the stories, the KKK, after the school was up and running, came marching on the small girls’ school with torches, with robes and on horseback. She already had a plan. She told her teachers to disperse, she hid her students, and she stood alone at the gate and stared them down.

“Madam Speaker, in my military career I’ve seen some tough cookies, some tough women, and I guarantee you this is the toughest one in the Hall today,” said Rep. Waltz, who served as a Green Beret.

“And if that wasn’t enough, then she became a member of President Roosevelt’s cabinet and developed a lifelong friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt who came to stay in Daytona Beach.

“She became a national leader in one generation. From daughter of slaves to national leader for women and civil rights.”

He also returned to Dr. Bethune’s own words, written in 1954 and now memorialized within the statue’s design.

“I think her greatest contribution is her last will and testament. She says I leave you love; I leave you hope; I leave you a thirst for education; I leave you faith. She said our aim must be to create a world of fellowship, a world of justice where no man’s skin color or religion is held against him. She said that faith is the first factor of in a life devoted to service. Without faith, nothing is possible and with it, nothing is impossible.”

Count us among those who find value in the words she left behind for they remain both timely and timeless in the world her “distilled philosophy,” and her untiring application, helped reshape.

Her memorable last will and testament may be found at cookman.edu/history/last-will-testament.html.

–Breeze editorial