Mary McLeod Bethune: The Pan-Africanist Book Release & Signing with Dr. Ashley Robertson Preston

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About the Book

Highlighting Bethune's global activism and her connections throughout  the African diaspora This book examines the pan-Africanism of Mary  McLeod Bethune through her work, which internationalized the scope of  Black women's organizations to create solidarity among Africans  throughout the diaspora. Broadening the familiar view of Bethune as an  advocate for racial and gender equality within the United States, Ashley  Preston argues that Bethune consistently sought to unify African  descendants around the world with her writings, through travel, and as  an advisor.Preston shows how Bethune's early involvement with Black  women's organizations created personal connections across Cuba, Haiti,  India, and Africa and shaped her global vision. Bethune founded and led  the National Council of Negro Women, which strengthened coalitions with  women across the diaspora to address issues in their local communities.  Bethune served as director of the Division of Negro Affairs for the  Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, and later as associate consultant  for the United Nations alongside W.E.B. DuBois and Walter White, using  her influence to address diversity in the military, decolonization,  suffrage, and imperialism. Mary McLeod Bethune the Pan-Africanist  provides a fuller, more accurate understanding of Bethune's work,  illustrating the perspective and activism behind Bethune's much-quoted  words: "For I am my mother's daughter, and the drums of Africa still  beat in my heart."

About the Author

Dr. Ashley Robertson Preston is assistant professor of  history at Howard University. She is the former director of the Mary  McLeod Bethune Foundation National Historic Landmark in Daytona Beach  and has worked at the National Archives for Black Women's History at the  Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site in Washington,  DC. Preston is the author of  Mary McLeod Bethune in Florida: Bringing Social Justice to the Sunshine State.