Mary McLeod Bethune was a prominent activist for African American rights during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The author of this selection writes "Few people have influenced the struggle for racial justice in so many corners of society in such profoundly positive ways as Mary McLeod Bethune." She fought against racial injustice for most of her life, and without her actions, today's world could be much different. Bethune began her fight for equal rights when she opened a school for young African American girls in 1904. Bethune "made it her policy that every student who wanted an education was welcome to attend." She believed that a good education was the key to attaining equality for African Americans. The school taught all sorts of
