[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H1144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CELEBRATING MARY McLEOD BETHUNE

  (Mr. WALTZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. WALTZ. Madam Speaker, today I rise to celebrate one of the most 
prominent African American women in my community and our Nation's 
history, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.
  At an early age, Dr. Bethune took an interest in the power of 
learning and promoting civil rights. In 1904, Dr. Bethune opened the 
Daytona Literary and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in 
Daytona Beach, which later merged with the Cookman Institute for Men in 
Jacksonville to form Bethune-Cookman College, now University, where she 
served as president.
  As Dr. Bethune worked to build the school she founded, she also 
became a national leader on issues related to civil rights, women, and 
young people, even providing counsel to U.S. Presidents.
  In 2018, the Florida legislature passed and the governor signed 
legislation to place a statue in her honor representing Florida in the 
National Statuary Hall collection here in the Capitol.
  Dr. Bethune knew education is the key to a quality life and a better 
life, and it is my honor to recognize her contributions on the floor 
here today.

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