Mary McLeod Bethune was an American educator and civil rights leader who in 1904 founded a school for Black students in Daytona Beach, Florida, starting with just $1.50, five students, and secondhand furniture; it grew into Bethune-Cookman University. She advised several U.S. presidents on issues facing Black Americans and, as director of the Division of Negro Affairs under President Franklin Roosevelt, became one of the first Black women to lead a U.S. federal agency. She is remembered as one of the most influential Black educators and leaders in American history.