The Advocacies and Ideological Commitments of a Black Educator: Mary McLeod Bethune, 1875-1955

• Main Author: Blackwell, Barbara Grant
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-1978
• Subjects: African American Studies; African Americans; Biographies; Black studies; Racism
• ISBN: 9798382882390

This study was designed to identify and.analyze the articulated advocacies and ideological corrunitments of a black educator, Mary McLeod Bethune. The investigation was an historical-analytical study and addressed the four research questions, namely: 1) What were the cultural roots of Mary McLeod Bethune and what were their effects on the contributions she made: family background, economic and community environment, religion and education: 2) What was her philosophy of education and what conditions influenced the development of her philosophy? 3) How did her involvement in civic, religious and social clubs of black women influence education and educational reform? and 4) Summarily, what could be considered her major and noteworthy advocacies and ideological commitments?The purpose of this study was to assess the contributions of this noted black leader. She exemplified the kind of woman who overcame the handicaps of race and sex and used her leadership qualities to attempt to resolve identified problems affecting black Americans. The study attempted to amplify and expand the literature on the contributions of black women in education and in the building of our society.Hundreds of books, manuscripts, articles, periodicals, and speeches were studied for content relative to her advocacies and commitments. These included sixty speeches, most of them unpublished, dating from 1907 to 1955, as well as over two hundred editorials written by Mrs. Bethune herself. In addition, personal interviews were held with knowledgeable associates in education, and with relatives and friends.Mrs. Bethune came from strong family roots and was primed early in her life to believe in herself. The unique strengths of her family included race pride, independence, resourcefulness and deep spiritual convictions. The family achieved a relatively stable economic base after slavery and there was racial cooperation in the community. She was the first in her family to attend school. As a result, she had a great reverence for education and devoted her life to securing equal educational opportunities for her people.She viewed the purposes of education as utility, moral consciousness, and social change. Her philosophy of education was expressed in the "head, heart, hand" motto of the school she founded in 1904. Training her students in industrial and vocational skills and habits of right thinking and good conduct, the school became a practical, rehabilitative, redemptive, and therapeutic service center.Mrs. Bethune's considerable club activities stemmed from her belief in the self-development of black women. She founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935 to provide the power base to attack legal and social inequalities in the society. The NCNW petitioned for more schools, longer school terms, equal education expenditures and salaries , and better prepared teachers. Black women's clubs were engaged in broader issues also. They were instrumental in establishing day-care centers, hospitals, homes for delinquent youths, consumer education clubs, citizenship classes, and economic self-help projects.