“After years of work by so many, I am proud to share that Master Sculptor Nilda Comas is now able to travel to Pietrasanta, Italy and “put hammer to chisel to marble” on Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune’s statue to represent Florida in the U.S. Capitol. She said it will be brought into the building through the same door the president uses to leave after giving an inaugural speech. We can now look forward to the time when we hold the celebration to welcome Dr. Bethune to the Capitol!” said Rep. Castor. The South Carolina native—who was one of the co-founders of Bethune-Cookman University—will be posthumously memorialized with a statue at the U.S. Capitol, Florida Politics reported. She read everything she could about the woman who died in 1955, and thumbed through some of Bethune’s personal notes. Mrs. Bethune is supporting herself by a cane given to her by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Founders of the Daughters of the American Revolution, (Here I Stand) In the Spirit of Paul Robeson, The Mama Ayesha's Restaurant Presidential Mural, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary_McLeod_Bethune_Memorial&oldid=950479188, Artworks in the collection of the National Park Service. Copyright © 2020 Interactive One, LLC. I LEAVE YOU A RESPECT FOR THE USE OF POWER. (Bronze plaque running around sides of base:) It is the first monument to honor a black woman in a public park in Washington, DC. “Mary McLeod Bethune was the most powerful woman I can remember as a child,” she said in a statement, according to the news outlet. 202-789-7000 / Fax 202-789-7037, 11 Great Spring Hotel Packages in Washington, DC, Discover DC's Breweries, Distilleries & Wineries, 20+ Hot Restaurants to Try Now in Washington, DC. Comas captivated the group, which included elected leaders, various Bethune-Cookman University officials and others who have been involved in shepherding the statue project. "Now (Bethune) is making her final journey to our nation’s capital," said Bob Lloyd, a key force behind the statue effort as well as the executive vice president and general counsel for Brown & Brown, Inc. (Front of base, in script:) From there take the 90 bus to 8th and East Capitol St. Eileen Zaffiro-Kean @EileenDBNJ Saturday Feb 15, 2020 at 7:27 AM Feb 17, 2020 at 11:21 AM. I LEAVE YOU A DESIRE TO LIVE HARMONIOUSLY WITH YOUR FELLOW MEN. Women’s History Month: Celebrating Black Women Pioneers And Their Many Firsts, historically Black colleges and universities. The school eventually was transformed into a college and merged with Cookman Institute—an all-male school—for the creation of Bethune-Cookman College in 1929. The funds for the monument were raised by the National Council of Negro Women, the organization Mrs. Bethune founded in 1935. Comas, who will be the first Hispanic female artist to have a sculpture in National Statuary Hall, also shared some of her personal journey as an artist. The block of marble she’ll use weighs 12 tons, she said. "I went through the house and tried to feel her life and her self," Comas said. The effort to have a sculpture of Bethune featured on Capitol Hill was led by Florida Congresswoman Val Demings who is a vice presidential hopeful. Let her works praise her She saw the dining room table, still covered with fine china, where Bethune entertained presidents. The statue was unveiled on the anniversary of her 99th birthday, July 10, 1974, before a crowd of over 18,000 people. Official word will soon be sent to the State of Florida, but the last preliminary step in the Architect of the Capitol Procedures and Guidelines for Replacement of Statues (the “Approval of Full-Size Clay Model and Pedestal Design, Including Proposed Inscription) is complete and allows work on the actual statue to commence! Bethune served as vice president of the NAACP until she passed away in 1955. The Mary McLeod Bethune Statue Lincoln Park commemorates educator and activist Mary McLeod Bethune. “She has been an inspiration to me throughout my whole life. “I was preparing for this all my life already, and now Dr. Bethune got to my heart.”. In 2019, a statue of the late legendary tennis player Althea Gibson, who broke several racial barriers within the realm of sports, was unveiled at the U.S. Open. It will replace a sculpture of confederate general Edmund Kirby Smith. Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) was an educator and a champion of civil rights. Mary McLeod Bethune statue sculptor ready to start chiseling . "You can count on me," Comas said at Thursday’s presentation. Choose the plan that’s right for you. All rights reserved. Please call or email if you have any questions on how you can be involved. The 17-foot bronze statue was sculpted by Robert Berks and was unveiled on July 10 … The Members of the Florida Congressional Delegation who renewed calls for a new statue to represent our state after the murder of Mother Emanuel AME Church congregants and the bipartisan members of the Florida Legislature who answered our call can be very proud of the progress on behalf of Floridians. Rep. Demings says the statue is a way to ensure her legacy is kept alive and her contributions inspire the next generation of leaders. From there take the 97 bus to East Capitol and 13th St. 901 7th Street NW, 4th Floor In 1904, Bethune founded the Daytona Beach Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. And she wowed them with the painstaking attention to detail she’s employed to get everything historically accurate down to the style of shoes on the marble depiction of Bethune. Nancy Lohman and Bob Lloyd, two key players in the endeavor to get a statue of Mary McLeod Bethune in National Statuary Hall, introduced the artist who will create the statue … The National Council of Negro Women, which she founded, raised the funds for this monument. NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN, INC. Mary McLeod Bethune sculptor Nilda Comas gave a presentation on her work of art in progress at the Museum of Arts & Sciences Thursday night. Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial is a bronze statue honoring educator and activist Mary McLeod Bethune, by Robert Berks. Digital access or digital and print delivery. Castor Provides Update on Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Statue Headed to U.S. Capitol Important Approval Granted by the Architect of the Capitol for Sculptor to Commence Work. > Click here to join our mailing list. Comas said she also did that "to capture the civil rights leader inside the educator.". The audience gasped in awe as Comas showed them pictures of the area high in the Italian Alps where the marble she’ll use was found. All Rights Reserved. When she chisels out her creation of Bethune, it will weigh about 6 tons. PRESIDENT She also recreated the wooden cane with detailed carving, a gift from Franklin D. Roosevelt, that Bethune used. It’s also an extremely heavy material. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Reps. Val Demings (D-Fla.) and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) introduced legislation to welcome the statue of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune to the U.S. Capitol. She launched the National Council of Negro Women as an avenue to create opportunities for Black women and their families. She began as an unpaid apprentice, and one day she found herself broke and crying in a piazza. It is the first monument to honor a black woman in a public park in Washington, DC. For years, Castor has championed the removal of Florida’s Jim Crow era statue from the United States Capitol’s Statuary Hall, obscure Confederate General Kirby Smith. DOROTHY I. Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 12 April 2020, at 08:32. Floridians will soon be better represented in the U.S. Capitol by a symbol of hope and a better future- civil rights & education icon, Mary McLeod Bethune. She was the daughter of former slaves, and founded a college. She noticed in photos how Bethune always left the gown open in front to show off stylish clothes, so she has a ruffled blouse peeking through the gown on the statue. with a bust of America’s first Black female poet Phillis Wheatley. Mrs. Bethune is supporting herself by a cane given to her by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It really got to my heart.". Dr. Bethune will be the first African American to officially represent a state in Statuary Hall, and Nilda Comas, will be the first Hispanic woman to have work displayed in Statuary Hall. Mary McLeod Bethune, who is honored by the statue's placement, was a noted leader in education for black Americans, a civil right leader, a women's rights advocate, an advisor to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and a writer, among other achievements.