On June 16 from 6:30-7:30 pm ET, the U.S. Capitol Historical Society continues our series on the life and legacy of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. Our in-person event at Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Park will feature Dr. Ashley Preston of Howard University, who is the author of “Mary McLeod Bethune in Florida: Bringing Social Justice to the Sunshine State” and previously served as Director of the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation-National Historic Landmark at Bethune-Cookman University. Joining her will be Mary McLeod Bethune reenactor, Ersula K. Odom.

Among the topics to be discussed is Bethune’s work with Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression and World War II, her friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and the impact she and her colleagues had as part of the “Black Cabinet” during one of the most tumultuous eras in U.S. history.

This event is free and open to the public. It is part of a series that honors Bethune before her statue is unveiled in the U.S. Capitol this summer.