Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial - Washington DC

Mary McLeod Bethune

The Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial is a statue dedicated to the life of Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955). Bethume was an extraordinary black educator, civil rights leader, and government official who founded the National Council of Negro Women and Bethune-Cookman College. She also served as special adviser to four presidents from Herbert Hoover to Franklin Roosevelt, who in 1935, appointed her Director of Negro Affairs for his National Youth Administration.

The memorial was funded by the National Council of Negro Women who raised the 150,000 dollars needed over a period of 13 years. According to the National Council of Negro Women, this memorial is the first honoring an African American in the District of Columbia. The memorial was built in 1973 by sculptor Robert Berks, and it was dedicated on July 10, 1974.

The monument was built out of bronze on a base made out of aggregate concrete and containing bronze plaques. The sculpture measures 10 ft. (height) x 15.5 ft. (length) x 9 ft. (width) and the base measures 6 ft. (height) x 25 ft. (length) x 20 ft. (width).

The memorial is located at in Lincoln Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, where North Carolina and Massachusetts Avenues cross and in between 13th and 11th Streets NE.