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Dr. Bethune's Last Will & Testament

Sometimes as I sit communing in my study I feel that death is not far off. I am aware that it will overtake me before the greatest of my dreams – full equality for the Negro in our time – is realized. Yet, I face that reality without fear or regrets. I am resigned to death as all humans must be at the proper time. Death neither alarms nor frightens one who has had a long career of fruitful toil. The knowledge that my work has been helpful to many fills me with joy and great satisfaction.

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Since my retirement from an active role in educational work and from the affairs of the National Council of Negro Women, I have been living quietly and working at my desk at my home here in Florida. The years have directed a change of pace for me. I am now 78 years old and my activities are no longer so strenuous as they once were. I feel that I must conserve my strength to finish the work at hand.

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Already I have begun working on my autobiography which will record my life-journey in detail, together with the innumerable side trips which have carried me abroad, into every corner of our country, into homes both lowly and luxurious, and even into the White House to confer with Presidents. I have also deeded my home and its contents to the Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation, organized in March, 1953, for research, interracial activity and the sponsorship of wider educational opportunities.

 

Sometimes I ask myself if I have any other legacy to leave. Truly, my worldly possessions are few.  Yet, my experiences have been rich. From them, I have distilled principles and policies in which I believe firmly, for they represent the meaning of my life's work. They are the products of much sweat and sorrow.

 

Perhaps in them there is something of value. So, as my life draws to a close, I will pass them on to Negroes everywhere in the hope that an old woman's philosophy may give them inspiration. Here, then is my legacy.

  • ATHENS WESTMONT SECTION
    309 E. Hillcrest Blvd., #190 Inglewood, CA 90301 phone (310) 874-0816 emailncnwathenswestmont@gmail.com webwww.aws-ncnw.org Ms. Sandra Mitchell, President
  • COMPTON SECTION
    PO Box 4643 Compton, CA 90221 phone (562) 225-4523 emailhayveto@gmail.com webhttps://bit.ly/2LS5UVr Ms. Dascha Brooks, President
  • HIGH DESERT SECTION
    PO Box 1324 Victorville, CA 92393 phone (760) 900-5850 emailsshabazzphd@gmail.com webhttp://www.ncnwhds.com/ Ms. Sarah ShaBazz-Ugwumba, Ph.D., President
  • INLAND-EMPIRE SECTION
    P O Box 1565 Rialto, CA 92377-1565 phone (909) 873-8874 emailiencnw@gmail.com webhttps://bit.ly/37BIgoL Ms. Deborah Smith, President
  • LONG BEACH SECTION
    PO Box 91914 Long Beach, CA 90809 phone (562) 659-0069 emailpassionateaboutncnw@gmail.com web https://bit.ly/37EgSGP Ms. Zina Bourda-Foe, President
  • LOS ANGELES SECTION
    PO Box 56822 Los Angeles, CA 90008 phone (323) 696-9668 emailbeverlyk1977@aol.com Ms. Beverly Jacobs, President
  • MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE SECTION
    P.O. Box 43151 Los Angeles, CA 90043 phone (310) 426-7659 emailncnwbethunela@gmail.com Ms. Marnesha Mintlow, President
  • MORENO VALLEY LIFE MEMBER GUILD
    P. O. Box 7266 Moreno Valley, CA 92552 phone (951) 247-8193 emailprayer9257@aol.com Mrs. Lois J. Stewart, Chair
  • ORANGE COUNTY SECTION
    PO Box 1283 Anaheim, CA 92815-1283 phone (619) 300-0973 emailjdurnellpowell@aol.comMs. Joan D. Powell, President
  • POMONA VALLEY SECTION
    PO Box 425 Montclair, CA 91763 phone (909) 938-8892 email info@wrightontimeyouthandfamilyservices.com web www.ncnw-pomona.org Ms. Linda D. Wright-Lee, President
  • SAN DIEGO SECTION
    PO Box 740332 San Diego, CA 92174-0332 emailedshome@cox.net webhttp://www.sandiegoncnw.org Mrs. Helen Edwards, President
  • SAN GABRIEL VALLEY SECTION
    P.O. Box 413 Walnut, California 91788 phone(310) 746-6055 emailmariethermidor127@gmail.com webwww.ncnwsgv.com/ Ms. Marie Paula Thermidor, President
  • SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LIFE MEMBER GUILD
    PO Box 94 Gardena, CA 90248 phone (310) 692-5504 emailjuanitapw1@gmail.comMrs. Juanita P. Wright, Chair
  • VIEW PARK SECTION
    3720 W. 54th Street Los Angeles, CA 90043 phone (323) 942-1613 emailmackenterprises1@aol.com webwww.ncnwviewparkla.com Ms. Arnetta Mack, President

Faith, courage, brotherhood, dignity, ambition, responsibility -- these are needed today as never before. We must cultivate them and use them as tools for our task of completing the establishment of equality for the Negro. We must sharpen these tools in the struggle that faces us and find new ways of using them. The Freedom Gates are half-ajar. We must pry them fully open.

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If I have a legacy to leave my people, it is my philosophy of living and serving. As I face tomorrow, I am content, for I think I have spent my life well. I pray now that my philosophy may be helpful to those who share my vision of a world of Peace, Progress, Brotherhood, and Love.

BUILDING | COMMUNITIES

STRENGTHENING | fAMILIES

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