Born to parents who were freed slaves, Bethune (1875-1955) became an eminent educator. She founded the Daytona Library and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls, which eventually became Bethune-Cookman College. She was its president for more than 30 years.

She served as a child welfare adviser under President Coolidge and was Franklin Delano Roosevelt's only official African-American adviser.

She appears here holding a cane given to her by FDR, handing on her legacy to two African-American children.

This statue was the first raised in DC to an African-American leader and the first raised to a woman.