Harriet Tubman's great nieces, Eva and Alida Stewart, 1910.

A father and sons at Penn Station, New York City, 1948.

On this day in 1875, educator, stateswoman, philanthropist, humanitarian, womanist and civil rights activist, Mary Jane McLeod, was born. In 1904, with $1.50 and faith in a living God, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune established the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Negro Girls, now known as Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. Mary Jane McLeod Bethune was a educator, stateswoman, philanthropist, humanitarian, womanist and civil rights activist. She was known as "The First Lady of The Struggle" because of her commitment to gain better lives for African Americans. CAREER & ACTIVISM: Bethune founded the National Council for Negro Women in 1935, established the organization's flagship journal Aframerican Women's Journal and resided as president or leader for myriad African American women's organizations including She is well known for starting a private school for African-American students in Daytona Beach, Florida; it later continued to develop as Bethune-Cookman University. Bethune was the sole African American woman officially a part of the US delegation that created the United Nations charter. For her lifetime of activism, she was deemed "acknowledged First Lady of Negro America" by Ebony magazine in July 1949 and was known by the Black Press as the "Female Booker T. Washington". May 18, 1955: In Daytona Beach, FL, Mary Jane McLeod died of a heart attack. She was 79.