July 13, 2022

Today, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi joined Congressional Leadership and Members of the Florida Congressional Delegation for the Congressional statue dedication and unveiling ceremony in honor of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, in the National Statuary Hall in the Capitol.

General Board of Church and Society board member The Rev. Dr. Sharon Austin, a native of Florida, attended the statue dedication ceremony at the National Statuary Hall in the Capitol. See her photos here.

As part of this historic day, Susan Henry-Crowe, General Secretary of the General Board of Church and Society, also hosted an event at the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill. GBCS Board Members, UMC Agency General Secretaries, and Representatives from UMC Annual Conferences witnessed the live stream congressional ceremony and celebrated the legacy of Dr. Mary Mcleod Bethune.

Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune was a civil rights pioneer and a champion for African American women’s rights and advancement in the United States. A strong advocate for education, she founded one of the Historically Black College and Universities, Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Florida, which is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

From the state of Florida, Dr. Bethune is the first African American to represent a state in the National Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol.