Time: Mary McLeod Bethune, 1875-1955: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Booklet in the style of an issue of TIME magazine printed for the dedication ceremony of the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial on July 10, 1974.The booklet is comprised of six sheets of glossy paper folded in half and secured by two staples at the center fold to form a 24 page booklet. The pages are not numbered. The cover displays the TIME magazine logo with a black and white photograph of Mary McLeod Bethune with the dome of the United States Capitol in the background. She is seen from the shoulders up and is looking upwards towards her left side. The TIME logo and a border around the cover are printed in red ink while all of the rest of the booklet's images and text are printed in black. The words ["MARY McLEOD BETHUNE / 1875-1955"] appear underneath the magazine logo and the words ["Her legacy to her people... / and the nation."] The booklet's interior contains information about both the Bethune Memorial and the Emancipation Memorial already located in Lincoln Park; biographical information about Mrs. Bethune, and excerpts from her "Last Will and Testament" poem detailing her understanding of her legacy. The booklet also contains photographs and short summaries of the people and institutions she was associated with including the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), Bethune-Cookman College, Dorothy Height, Dr. Richard Moore, and Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Three testimonials to Mrs. Bethune are included. Lastly, the booklet acknowledges the many people and organizations who contributed to the Memorial being built. The back page of the booklet lists the national officers, executive board, and staff of the NCNW.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: July 10, 1974
• Subject of: National Council of Negro Women, American, founded 1935
• Subject of: Mary McLeod Bethune, American, 1875 - 1955
• Subject of: Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial, American, dedicated 1974
• Subject of: Dorothy Height, American, 1912 - 2010
• Subject of: Richard V. Moore, American, 1906 - 1994
• Subject of: Bethune-Cookman University, American, founded 1904
• Subject of: Emancipation Memorial, American, founded 1876
• Subject of: Frances Payne Bolton, American, 1885 - 1977
• Type: booklets
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 11 × 8 in. (27.9 × 20.3 cm)
• Place depicted: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Humanitarianism
• Topic: Justice
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Race relations
• Object number: 2024.110.2.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.