Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 10-15-21

Local
Rep. Castor Welcomes Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Statue To Florida Before Final Journey To U. S. Capitol
State Senator Perry Thurston with Rep. Kathy Cas- tor.
The historic statue will represent Florida in the U. S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall, the first African American to represent a state
Monday, U. S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) helped unveil the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune statue for the first time in Florida and the U. S. since arriving from Italy. The Dr. Bethune statue will soon represent the State of Florida in the United States Capitol’s National Statuary Hall Collection. Dr. Bethune will be the first African American to represent any state in the collection.
Dr. Bethune takes the place of an obscure con- federate general who has represented Florida in the state collection since 1922 and will be one of only a few women to represent a state in the 100-statue collection. The confederate statue that has repre- sented Florida since the Jim Crow era was removed from the Capitol in the beginning of September.
“Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune is an outstand-
Statue of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune arrived from Italy.
ing representative of the State of Florida. The long- awaited arrival of Florida’s newest statue in the United States Capitol is now on track for early 2022 after her visit to Daytona Beach where she founded Bethune-Cookman University and embarked on her impactful career on equal rights, education, the ad- vancement of veterans and so much more. I am grateful to the many friends who I’ve worked along- side for years in order to reach this momentous mo- ment. Dr. Bethune embodies the very best of the Sunshine State – Floridians and all Americans can take great pride in being represented by the great educator and civil rights icon. This exhibit in Day- tona Beach – Dr. Bethune’s home and the home of Bethune-Cookman University – provides an im- portant and special opportunity to learn about Dr. Bethune’s life, and I am glad that she is being rightfully recognized here in Florida before she trav- els to her place of honor and recognition by all of America in the U. S. Capitol,” said Rep. Castor.
In attendance at the unveiling with Rep. Castor were many of the partners in the years long journey – master sculptor Nilda Comas, Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry, Bethune-Cookman Uni- versity President Dr. Hiram Powell, Florida Sec- retary of State Laurel Lee, Mary McLeod Bethune Statuary Committee Chair Nancy Lohman and Vice Chair Bob Lloyd, State Senator Perry Thurston, Florida Cultural Affairs Director Sandy Shaughnessy, Rep. Michael Waltz, U. S. Capi- tol Historical Society President and CEO Jane Campbell, and many proud BCU alumni and friends.
A temporary exhibit in Daytona is open through early December where visitors will be able to see the statue and learn about Dr. Bethune’s life and legacy for free seven days a week from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Daytona State College’s News-Journal Cen- ter, located at 221 N. Beach St. Please reserve a time slot to see it.
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021