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Mary McLeod Bethune makes the long journey home to Florida with new Daytona Beach statue

Florida Photographic Collection
Florida Photographic Collection

A new statue of Mary McLeod Bethune was unveiled Thursday in Daytona Beach, just weeks after an identical sculpture was displayed in the U.S. Capitol. 

— Daytona Beach News-Journal (@dbnewsjournal) August 10, 2022

The 13-foot-tall bronze sculpture is a replica of the marble statue of Mary McLeod Bethune in the U.S. Capitol. 

It stands in Daytona Beach’s Riverfront Esplanade. 

In it, Bethune wears her cap and gown, and holds a black rose in one hand and a cane gifted to her by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in the other. 

Both sculptures were crafted by Latina artist Nilda Comas.

Last month, Bethune, a lifelong civil rights activist and founder of Bethune-Cookman University, became the first African American to represent her state in Statuary Hall. 

Copyright 2022 WMFE. To see more, visit WMFE.

Danielle Prieur
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