Yoonseo Cho
Daegu International School
Abstract
Mary McLeod Bethune was a strong leader who helped change the fight for African American women’s rights. In 1935, she started the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), which brought together many Black women’s groups to work as one powerful team. She was born poor in South Carolina after slavery ended but became a well-known teacher, activist, and advisor to leaders. Through the NCNW, she helped fight unfair treatment in schools, jobs, and civil rights during hard times like the Great Depression and the Jim Crow era.
The NCNW helped Black women by offering job training, fighting for fair work rules, and leading important events like the 1938 White House meeting about Black women and children. With Mary McLeod Bethune’s leadership, the group broke through unfair rules based on race and gender. Their work helped lead to later victories, like laws for fair hiring and equal pay. After Bethune, Dorothy Height continued this work by getting more Black women involved in the Civil Rights Movement and pushing for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The NCNW didn’t just help in the U.S.—it also worked with groups around the world to fight poverty and unfair treatment. Mary McLeod Bethune believed in the power of learning, faith, and working together, and her ideas still inspire people today. The NCNW’s lasting impact shows how important it has been in history and how it continues to guide today’s fights for justice. It proves that when people come together with strong leadership, they can break down unfair systems and help make a country more fair and kind.
