Program

National Votes for Women Trail

Subject

Education, People

Location

640 Dr Mary McLeod Bethune Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL 32114, USA

Lat/Long

29.213026, -81.031816

Grant Recipient

National Collaborative for Women's History Sites

Educator and suffragist, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) worked and advocated at the local, state, and national levels for voting rights for African American women. Along with her suffrage activism, Bethune dedicated her career to improving access to education for African Americans and fought against segregation. A national leader in African American women’s clubs, Bethune served as president of the National Association of Colored Women and later founded and served as president of the National Council of Negro Women.

In 1904, Bethune moved to Daytona Beach, Florida and founded the Daytona Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls, later made coeducational and named Bethune-Cookman University. Bethune’s former home is located on the campus of Bethune-Cookman University. Bethune lived in this house until her death in 1955. She is buried behind her home on campus.