Essay --

Mary McLeod Bethune was an African American educator, activist, and advisor. She believed that education provided the key to racial advancement. She became an educator and did much to contribute to American society. Mary Bethune also became very involved in government service. She started her own civil rights organization working on critical issues for African Americans and also helped many presidents in certain affairs. Mary McLeod Bethune gave the speech â€Å"What Does American Democracy Mean to Me?† November 23. 1939. The speech was given on America’s Town Meeting of the Air, which was a radio show in New York that discussed American Politics. The speech remains significant today. This speech is about Mary’s personal meaning of democracy. She speaks on the relation between democracy and African Americans. She reminded listeners that African Americans have always been willing to do whatever it takes for democracy and what it stands for. Today many African Amer ican contribute to the democracy, making this speech relatable to them. â€Æ' Who? During this time period, Mary McLeod Bethune was a well respect civil rights activists and democratic advisor. By lending her expertise to several presidents, she became popular in American government. She became a leader in the effort to build coalition among African American women fighting for equal rights, better education, jobs, and political power. She led many local and national women’s clubs. She founded the National Council of Negro Women, which opened the doors to her relationship with President Roosevelt. President Franklin D. Roosevelt named her direct of the Office of Minority Affairs in the National Youth Administration. When? This speech was given during the New Deal Era. On November ... ...ons fundamental change. To whom? The radio show the speech was given on attracted up to 3,000,000 listeners each week. When giving her speech she was giving it to over a million Americans of all races. Her speech was to those who agreed and disagreed with African American progress and equality. For those who disagreed she spoke to them to possible change their hearts. To those who agreed, she spoke to them giving them inspiration. How? We do not know what she was physically doing because the speech was through a radio station. While giving the speech, Mary Bethune’s voice was powerful. Her words were spoken very clearly and she spoke loudly. This is significant because African Americans in the past were illiterate and could not read or write and their speech would not be clear. She spoke very literate and her vocabulary was unlike most African Americans at the time.