This is the last episode of a podcast series documenting the life of the great civil rights leader Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.  Mary passed away in 1955 just shy of her 80th birthday.  In spite of her death, the seeds she planted after the turn of the century on the site of a former garbage dump in Daytona Beach continued to flourish.  Today, tens of thousands of students have graduated from what is now Bethune-Cookman University.  Mary's legacy lives on today through the countless lives she's inspired, and the dream she turned into a reality with faith and a humble capital investment of $1.50.

The 1940s was a busy time for Mary McLeod Bethune.  As America went off to war, Mrs. Bethune stayed busy on the homefront working to desigrigate the U.S. military.   Her efforts in helping ensure black women were given the chance to also fight for their country is the subject of this episode.

Credits:

Join the Wac - Glen Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Band

The 1940s were still a tumutulous time for racial relations in the United States, but because of the politcal gains that Mary McLeod Bethune made in previous decades, Daytona Beach was safe-haven in the south for black people live and thrive.  Mary's work came into play when Jackie Robinson was selected as the first black player to be signed to a Major League Baseball contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Although Jackie made his major league debut in 1947, it was actually in Daytona Beach the year prior that the first integrated game was played in front of a sold out crowd at City Island Park, the same field that now bears Robinson's name.

Credit:

Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball, by Natalie Cole

Joltin Joe Dimaggio, by Les Brown WKMG-News 6, Orlando, Florida

Historian  Bill Shumann

Brigette Stephanson, City of Sanford Musuem

Dr. Harold Lucas, Bethune-Cookman University  

YouTube

This is the 7th episode in a podcast that examines the life and legacy of the great educator and civil rights leader Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.  In First in Flight: The Story of the Tuskegee Airman, host Dr. Randolph Bracy Jr. talks about Mary's instrumental role in helping to integreate our nation's military in the critical years leading up to to World War II in the 1930s and early 1940s.  Mary leveraged her relationship with First Lady Elenor Roosevelt to lobby for the creation of the Army Air Corp, which helped pave the way for first military aviator group in the U.S., the Tuskegee Airmen, to get off the ground.

This is the 6th episode in a series documenting the life of the great educator and civil rights leader, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.  While most of America struggled in the 1930's following the Great Depression, Mary's life was filled with one accomplishment after another.  She forged a special relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Elenor, which allowed her to continue her push for equal civil rights for all Americans.  

Special credit to the Florida Historical Society, The Visionary Project (YouTube), the National Youth Administration (NYA), the National Assoication for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  

This is the fifth podcast in a series about the life of the great civil rights leader and educator, Dr, Mary McLeod Bethune.  This episodes explores the challenges that Mary was faced with after the founding of her school in 1904.  Lynching was common in the early 20th century, leading to the Niagara Movement and the founding of the NAACP.  Even after the NAACP was formed, lynching continued to be a big problem in the south in the years leading up to the Great Depression. 

Credit is given to the Johnson Brothers - James Weldon and John Rosemond - who wrote the opening song "Lift Every Voice and Sing", which is still widely used today, 120 years later.  James Weldon Johnson would also go on to achieve national stature with the NAACP, serving as an officer.

This is the fourth episode in a series exploring the life and legacy of the great civil rights leader and educator, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.  In "The Merger", host Dr. Randolph Bracy Jr. discusses how Mary's burgeoning school for girls combines efforts with the Methodist church and another all-boys school, paving the way for it's future.

This is the third episode in a series focusing on the life of the great educator and civil rights leader, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.  After starting her all-girls negro school in Daytona Beach in 1904, Mary has a run in with the Klu Klux Klan on the eve of a big election.

This is the second episode in a series exploring the life and legacy of the great civil rights leader and educator, Dr. Mary McLeod.  In "From Dump to Destiny," Mary's journey lands her in Dayonta Beach where she starts to make some connections that will be critical to the founding of her all-girls school.

This is the first in a series of podcasts outlining the life journey of the great educator and civil rights leader, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.  Dr. Randolph Bracy Jr., describes the rough and primitive conditions Mary was born into in Maysville, South Carolina, only 10 years after the abolishment of slavery.  She overcomes many obstacles, including the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, to eventually make her way to Daytona Beach, the city her school would be founded in in 1904.