[Portrait] Mary McLeod Bethune believed that education offered impoverished African Americans the best route out of poverty. In 1904, with a fund of $1.50, she established a normal-industrial school for girls in Daytona Beach, Florida. It eventually became the fully accredited Bethune-Cookman College.

Hanging in the background of Bethune's portrait is a picture of Faith Hall, the first major building erected at the college. The portrait is part of a series created by Betsey Graves Reyneau to call attention to African American leaders' contributions to American life.

Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, gift of the Harmon Foundation.

Portrait of Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955), 1943-44, by Betsy Graves Reyneau (1888-1964), oil on canvas

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