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