MCLEOD BETHUNE and Entrepreneur by Bethune-Cookman University staff Photos courtesy of Bethune-Cookman University Archives
Dr . Mary McLeod Bethune was never one to shy away from a challenge . As an African American woman living at the turn of the 19th century , Dr . Bethune faced a tremendous amount of adversity and setbacks , which she met with a fierce entrepreneurial spirit and a knack for innovative thought . To this day , her legacy resonates throughout the Daytona Beach area .
“ The spiritual and educational creed expressed in Dr . Bethune ’ s life and in her ‘ Last Will and Testament ,’ reflect the core ideas that guide Daytona Beach ,” said Mayor Derrick Henry . “ Her legacy challenges us to live out our values both individually and collectively . She serves as the moral compass that binds us together and inspires us to reach for our destiny .”
Although Dr . Bethune is best known as an educator , public figure in government , and Black women ’ s club activist , she was also a successful businesswoman , who made a substantial impact on the economic success of early Daytona Beach . Her personal and financial investments not only laid a foundation of success for others but also ensured fiscal security for her and her family .
And like the other aspects of her life , Dr . Bethune ’ s entrepreneurial spirit centered on improving the lives of those in Black communities . In addition to establishing businesses to serve the people , she also invested in businesses . Here is a look at some of her more lucrative efforts .
Insurance Business
Dr . Bethune played a notable role in the insurance business in North Central and Central Florida . Noting the lack of insurance companies catering specifically to the Black community , Dr . Bethune lent her support to two companies , according to historical accounts .
Dr . Bethune held capital stock in the Afro-American Life Insurance Company of Jacksonville and is noted as a co-founder of the Central Life Insurance Company of Tampa . Her association with Central Life Insurance began in 1923 , when 13 men , led by
Tampa realtor and mortician Garfield D . Rodgers , offered Dr . Bethune the opportunity to join them in the insurance business .
This opportunity proved most lucrative for Dr . Bethune . Using the extra earnings from selling insurance , Dr . Bethune was able to pay off the mortgage on the “ Homestead ,” the estate in which she was born and raised in Mayesville , SC and buy a modern home for her parents .
Bethune Beach
As mentioned earlier , Dr . Bethune was an activist who advocated for the civil and personal rights of people of color . While she made her voice heard on a national level on many occasions , in the early 1940s , she took on a local cause – the lack of access to Daytona ’ s public beaches for people of color .
Although beaches had been open to all races during Daytona Beach ’ s founding years , by the 1940s , a series of Jim Crow laws banned African Americans from most of Florida ’ s beaches where whites could go .
In 1943 , working with a group of wealthy African American investors , including George Engram , Sr ., owner of Engram Electric , the Bethune-Cookman University founder purchased a 2.5 mile strip of land in New Smyrna Beach , 23 miles south of Daytona , for $ 200,000 . She and Mr . Engram envisioned a resort town where African Americans could gather in peace and enjoy the surf and sun , all the while experiencing economic empowerment as property owners .
The beach was incorporated as Bethune-Volusia Beach , with Dr . Bethune serving as its first president . Shortly thereafter , the land was subdivided into 800 properties and sold to African Americans who wanted to live beachside .
In 1951 , Welricha Hotel , in which Dr . Bethune held partial interest , was opened to accommodate vacationers and provide recreational facilities to African American residents . Advertised as “ a playground controlled exclusively by our race ,” the property offered a resort-style setting where blacks could enjoy “ recreation and relaxation without humiliation .”
AUGUST 2021 | 7 |