Updated: 10:53 AM EST Feb 25, 2021 Many have heard the name Mary McLeod Bethune, but do not know the woman and her story. Born in Mayesville, South Carolina, in 1875, Mary McLeod Bethune came to Central Florida just before the turn of the century. Determined to give an education to Black women, in 1904, with just $1.50 to her name, Mary McLeod Bethune started The Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls. Today, the small house which bore her school sits on the edge of her university: Bethune-Cookman University.While growing her educational institution, Dr. Bethune became a presence on the national stage. She was a counselor to several presidents. She was the founder of the National Council of Negro Women. She was the co-creator of the iconic United Negro College Fund 144, and she just happened to start a great university, said Dr. LaBrent Chrite, the current president of BC-U. Becoming close friends with Eleanor and President Franklin Roosevelt, in 1933