Six Transformational Leaders, One Cause: Equal RightsMary McLeod BethuneMary McLeod Bethune was one of the greatest educational reform leaders in the history of UNITED STATES. Born in 1875 in Mayesville, South Carolina, her parents were former slaves who purchased their own farm. Mary worked on the farm until age eleven, when she attended a Presbyterian Church school founded by a missionary. This marked the beginning of his roots that would shape his vision of education and racial equality. (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2010). Mary then attended Scotia Seminary, a school for African-American girls in Concord, North Carolina, where she was deeply influenced by both black and white teachers. Her degree earned in Scotland led her to continue her studies as a student at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, in 1893, where she received extensive training to become a missionary to Africa. It was this desire that opened his eyes to the depths of racial discrimination, when he was told that African Americans were not allowed to hold missionary positions. This roadblock, however, led Mary back to the Presbyterian mission school, where in 1896, Mary became an instructor, as her love for educating black children blossomed. Her passion for raising these children became so great that it caused problems with her marriage and she separated from her husband (Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2010). The year 1904 brought the construction of the Florida East Coast Railroad, as well as hundreds of African railroads. Americans who needed jobs. Mary's passion to educate these people became her all-consuming goal. She rented a two-story house in Daytona Beach, Florida, and started...... middle of paper ......Carson, C. (2001). The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Warner Books. Lotha, G., Promeet, D., Rogers, K. and Singh, S. (Eds.) (2010). Frederick Douglass. Biography.com. Retrieved July 20, 2010 from http://www.biography.com/articles/Frederick-Douglass-9278324. Gilbert, O. (2010). The story of the truth of the stay. Stilwell, Kan. : General Books. John F. Kennedy. (2010). Washington: The White House. Accessed July 19, 2010, from http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnfkennedy.Mary McLeod Bethune. (2010). Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved July 20, 2010, from http://www.notablebiographies.com/Be-Br/Bethune-Mary-Mcleod.html. Meltzer, M. (1987). Mary McLeod Bethune: Voice of Black Hope. New York: Penguin. Oates, Stephen B. (1994). With malice toward none: a life of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Harper perennial plant.