Mary McLeod Bethune, one of seventeen children born of slave parents, had outstanding courage, great determination, and a dream.  A barefoot child on a South Carolina cotton field, she was reached by one of the early mission schools, and  that first taste of knowledge inspired a career in education and humanitarianism.  With the aid of scholarships and money earned at any kind of menial work she could find, she graduated from Scotia Seminary in Concord, North Carolina, and from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.  She founded a college for Negroes in Florida, starting with $1.50 and faith in God, using charred splinters for pencils, mashed elderberries for ink, packing boxes for furniture.  Bethune-Cookman College today is valued at more than $1,000,000. 

One of America's truly great women—a woman of indestructible spirit and remarkable faith—Mrs. Bethune, in her courageous battle against intolerance, served not only her own people, but the world.  As a consultant at the United Nations San Francisco Conference in 1945, she worked closely with leaders from all parts of the world. And although she held no official government position, statesmen came to her for advice and encouragement on every kind of problem. 

This moving biography by Catherine Peare will inspire every reader, young and old.

From the dust jacket