Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Silhouette

by Cora Wandel

Title

Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Silhouette

Artist

Cora Wandel

Medium

Photograph

Description

This photograph is a silhouette of the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial in Washington, DC. The memorial honors an African-American woman who was a civil rights activist, an educator and prominent stateswoman in the early half of the 20th century. The cane she walked with was given to her by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after he appointed her as his national adviser on race issues and made her a part of what was known as Roosevelt’s "Black Cabinet". Because of her efforts on behalf of all black Americans she was affectionately known as "The First Lady of the Struggle." Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women, which raised the money to erect the memorial to her. Bethune, as an educator, also founded what would become a prominent, private school for African-American students in Florida. Bettering the lives of children through education was a very important part of her life, which is symbolically reflected in this memorial with the presence of two children (the statue shows Bethune handing a copy of her legacy to the children).

The Mary McLeod Memorial was dedicated on July 10, 1974, the 99th anniversary of her birth (Bethune lived from 1875 to 1955). The bronze statue was made by Robert Berks, and is located in Lincoln Park at East Capitol Street and 12th Street in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington.

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August 14th, 2017

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