I had the pleasure recently of reading “A Passionate Mind in Relentless Pursuit: The Vision of Mary McLeod Bethune” by Noliwe Rooks.
I have literally loved Mary Mcleod Bethune since I was a child. I have a book printed in 1975 when I was 8 years old. I remember getting the book at the school book fair. I was in second grade.
The book tells the story of Mary McLeod being born to formerly enslaved parents and eventually being the only child of 17 who picked up to 250 pounds of cotton a day, eventually getting the opportunity to go to school, walking 3 miles each way.
Once she finished, she got the opportunity to go to Scotia Seminary in Concord North Carolina. After graduating, she began her career as a teacher, later moving with her son Albert to Daytona Beach to found a school with 5 little girls, when she was 29 years old. That school eventually became Bethune-Cookman.
In Prof. Rook’s amazing book, I learned that Bethune welcomed each child with a song, “Come in little girl, we’ve been expecting you. I hope you’ll be happy with us.” (p. 81). If only we could be greeted that way every day as little Black girls in the world.I appreciated Prof. Rooks sharing that as she learned more about Bethune, she realized that she was understanding “the power of a vision centering women,” which allowed her to feel the “courage to imagine a world from the perspective of women and girls.” (p. 84).
What I learned as Prof. Rooks wrote, was how “Bethune learned to step confidently through …the fog that engulfed her life and the lives of many people about whom she most cared.” I learned about her “strategizing, organizing, freedom dreaming, and moving the torch of justice enough so that its glow illuminated, even if only a little bit, the path ahead.” (p. 39)
While I had always been familiar with her amazing Last Will and Testament, I appreciated being reminded of one of her gifts that she left the world:
“I Leave You Respect for the Uses of Power.” In that gift, she shares, “Now that the barriers are crumbling everywhere, the Negro in America must be ever vigilant lest his forces be marshalled behind wrong causes and undemocratic movements. He must not lend his support to any group that seeks to subvert democracy. That is why we must select leaders who are wise, courageous, and of great moral stature and ability.” (p. 33).
In this upcoming election, it is more than clear who has attempted to subvert democracy, and who is not wise, courageous, or of any moral stature of ability.
Bethune’s advocacy for women was reflected in how she defined freedom for women: “a woman is free if she lives by her own standards and creates her own destiny, if she prizes her individuality and puts no boundaries on her hopes for tomorrow.” (p. 90).
She continues to share Bethune’s dream: “Bethune dreamed of a world where Black women and girls basked in the warmth of their collective suns.” (p. 105).
She leveraged schools and organizations, such as the NCNW (National Council of Negro Women), the Moral Re-Armament movement, and resources of the federal government, and understood “the global fight against patriarchy and colonization.” (p. 106).
In a fascinating discussion, Prof. Rooks shares the importance of understanding the impact capital and capitalism have on the lives of Black people, sharing the founding of American Beach.
Most importantly, in telling the story of Mary McLeod Bethune, she gives me a fuller understanding of the woman I have idolized and admired my entire life.
In Blackwildgirl, I write:
When I was about seven years old, I read the “Biography
of Mary McLeod Bethune,” and decided I wanted to be
just like her . . . an educator. . . . As I began working
on my dissertation, I read Black Feminist Thought by
Patricia Hill Collins and felt as if I had entered a whole
new world. Reading Deborah King, bell hooks, Angela
Davis, Pauli Murray, Paula Giddings, and many others,
has been an emotional roller-coaster, yet wonderfully
thrilling and inspirational. It has forced me to examine
my own experiences and to critique my responses to
those experiences as a black woman, not just from a
racial perspective, but from a gender perspective as well.
Working on my dissertation has confirmed my desire to
be an educator, to be able to share with others the wonders,
the knowledge, and the joy that I have experienced
in my academic career. . . . Having occupied the role of
lawyer, judicial clerk, and professor, . . . I know that I
must continue to be a role model for other women as
an educator in the tradition of Ms. Bethune, nurturing a
desire for knowledge. This dissertation, then, represents
my commitment to education and knowledge as tools to
address racial, gender, and class inequality.” (p. 170-171).
Now, more than ever, we should remind ourselves of her legacy in her Last Will and Testament:
“Sometimes I ask myself if I have any other legacy to leave. Truly, my worldly possessions are few. Yet, my experiences have been rich. From them, I have distilled principles and policies in which I believe firmly, for they represent the meaning of my life’s work. They are the products of much sweat and sorrow. Perhaps in them there is something of value. So, as my life draws to a close, I will pass them on to Negroes everywhere in the hope that an old woman’s philosophy may give them inspiration. Here, then is my legacy.
I LEAVE YOU LOVE. Love builds. It is positive and helpful. It is more beneficial than hate. Injuries quickly forgotten quickly pass away. Personally and racially, our enemies must be forgiven. Our aim must be to create a world of fellowship and justice where no man’s skin, color or religion, is held against him. “Love thy neighbor” is a precept which could transform the world if it were universally practiced. It connotes brotherhood and, to me, brotherhood of man is the noblest concept in all human relations. Loving your neighbor means being interracial, interreligious and international.
I LEAVE YOU HOPE. The Negro’s growth will be great in the years to come. Yesterday, our ancestors endured the degradation of slavery, yet they retained their dignity. Today, we direct our economic and political strength toward winning a more abundant and secure life. Tomorrow, a new Negro, unhindered by race taboos and shackles, will benefit from more than 330 years of ceaseless striving and struggle. Theirs will be a better world. This I believe with all my heart.
I LEAVE YOU THE CHALLENGE OF DEVELOPING CONFIDENCE IN ONE ANOTHER. As long as Negroes are hemmed into racial blocks by prejudice and pressure, it will be necessary for them to band together for economic betterment. Negro banks, insurance companies and other businesses are examples of successful, racial economic enterprises. These institutions were made possible by vision and mutual aid. Confidence was vital in getting them started and keeping them going. Negroes have got to demonstrate still more confidence in each other in business. This kind of confidence will aid the economic rise of the race by bringing together the pennies and dollars of our people and ploughing them into useful channels. Economic separatism cannot be tolerated in this enlightened age, and it is not practicable. We must spread out as far and as fast as we can, but we must also help each other as we go.
I LEAVE YOU A THIRST FOR EDUCATION. Knowledge is the prime need of the hour. More and more, Negroes are taking full advantage of hard-won opportunities for learning, and the educational level of the Negro population is at its highest point in history. We are making greater use of the privileges inherent in living in a democracy. If we continue in this trend, we will be able to rear increasing numbers of strong, purposeful men and women, equipped with vision, mental clarity, health and education.
I LEAVE YOU RESPECT FOR THE USES OF POWER. We live in a world which respects power above all things. Power, intelligently directed, can lead to more freedom. Unwisely directed, it can be a dreadful, destructive force. During my lifetime I have seen the power of the Negro grow enormously. It has always been my first concern that this power should be placed on the side of human justice. Now that the barriers are crumbling everywhere, the Negro in America must be ever vigilant lest his forces be marshalled behind wrong causes and undemocratic movements. He must not lend his support to any group that seeks to subvert democracy. That is why we must select leaders who are wise, courageous, and of great moral stature and ability. We have great leaders among us today: Ralph Bunche, Channing Tobias, Mordecai Johnson, Walter White, and Mary Church Terrell. [The latter now deceased]. We have had other great men and women in the past: Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth. We must produce more qualified people like them, who will work not for themselves, but for others.
I LEAVE YOU FAITH. Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to service. Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible. Faith in God is the greatest power, but great, too, is faith in oneself. In 50 years the faith of the American Negro in himself has grown immensely and is still increasing. The measure of our progress as a race is in precise relation to the depth of the faith in our people held by our leaders. Frederick Douglass, genius though he was, was spurred by a deep conviction that his people would heed his counsel and follow him to freedom. Our greatest Negro figures have been imbued with faith. Our forefathers struggled for liberty in conditions far more onerous than those we now face, but they never lost the faith. Their perseverance paid rich dividends. We must never forget their sufferings and their sacrifices, for they were the foundations of the progress of our people.
I LEAVE YOU RACIAL DIGNITY. I want Negroes to maintain their human dignity at all costs. We, as Negroes, must recognize that we are the custodians as well as the heirs of a great civilization. We have given something to the world as a race and for this we are proud and fully conscious of our place in the total picture of mankind’s development. We must learn also to share and mix with all men. We must make and effort to be less race conscious and more conscious of individual and human values. I have never been sensitive about my complexion. My color has never destroyed my self-respect nor has it ever caused me to conduct myself in such a manner as to merit the disrespect of any person. I have not let my color handicap me. Despite many crushing burdens and handicaps, I have risen from the cotton fields of South Carolina to found a college, administer it during its years of growth, become a public servant in the government of our country and a leader of women. I would not exchange my color for all the wealth in the world, for had I been born white I might not have been able to do all that I have done or yet hope to do.
I LEAVE YOU A DESIRE TO LIVE HARMONIOUSLY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEN. The problem of color is worldwide. It is found in Africa and Asia, Europe and South America. I appeal to American Negroes — North, South, East and West — to recognize their common problems and unite to solve them. I pray that we will learn to live harmoniously with the white race. So often, our difficulties have made us hypersensitive and truculent. I want to see my people conduct themselves naturally in all relationships — fully conscious of their manly responsibilities and deeply aware of their heritage. I want them to learn to understand whites and influence them for good, for it is advisable and sensible for us to do so. We are a minority of 15 million living side by side with a white majority. We must learn to deal with these people positively and on an individual basis.
I LEAVE YOU FINALLY A RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. The world around us really belongs to youth for youth will take over its future management. Our children must never lose their zeal for building a better world. They must not be discouraged from aspiring toward greatness, for they are to be the leaders of tomorrow. Nor must they forget that the masses of our people are still underprivileged, ill-housed, impoverished and victimized by discrimination. We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends.
Faith, courage, brotherhood, dignity, ambition, responsibility — these are needed today as never before. We must cultivate them and use them as tools for our task of completing the establishment of equality for the Negro. We must sharpen these tools in the struggle that faces us and find new ways of using them. The Freedom Gates are half-ajar. We must pry them fully open. If I have a legacy to leave my people, it is my philosophy of living and serving. As I face tomorrow, I am content, for I think I have spent my life well. I pray now that my philosophy may be helpful to those who share my vision of a world of Peace, Progress, Brotherhood, and Love.”
Last Will and Testament https://www.cookman.edu/history/last-will-testament.html
Thank you, Noliwe for your research and commitment to tell the nuanced and untold story of this amazing shero!
I had the honor this April of sharing my new memoir, Blackwildgirl: A Writer’s Journey to Take Back Her Superpower, at Bethune-Cookman. It was so powerful to walk on the campus where she walked, worked, lived, and loved.
