She Had A Child, $1.50, And Faith

She had a big dream, but only $1.50 to her name. And she was raising a child alone. Determined to succeed, she turned to God. She never imagined she’d become one of the most influential Black women in history.

She Had A Child, $1.50, And Faith
Via Wikimedia Commons

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6.

At 29, Mary McLeod Bethune was a single mother going through a messy divorce. Wanting to support her son but not knowing how, Bethune turned to prayer.

Bethune discerned she should start a school. Even though she had only $1.50 ($53 today)  she got to work. 

Believing in the importance of girls’ education, she founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in 1904.

Tapping into her resourcefulness, she made pencils from charred wood, ink from elderberries, and mattresses from moss-stuffed corn sacks. Her first students were five girls, and her son. 

Two years later, the school’s population soared to 250 students. Today, the school, Bethune-Cookman University, remains the only HBCU founded by a Black woman

Bethune became one of history's most influential educators, civil rights leaders, and government officials. 

Bethune’s legacy reminds us that trusting in God means releasing our plan for ourselves and surrendering to God’s plan for us. 


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