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.
The last leg of the very long journey taken by the bronze likeness of Mary McLeod Bethune is now complete. https://t.co/j4ey9a65Zk
— 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.
