The child of slaves, Mary McLeod Bethune opened a training school for African American girls in Florida in 1904. Over the years, the school evolved and grew, becoming a junior college, then offering a four-year baccalaureate program in liberal arts and teacher education. By the early 1940s, Bethune was a national figure and had been named director of the Division of Negro Affairs in President Franklin Roosevelt’s National Youth Administration. She was one of the exceptional African Americans whom Edwin Rogers Embree asked Parks to photograph for 13 Against the Odds.

Parks visited Bethune at the college; he described her as a mother hen, tidying up her roost, doing her best to prepare students not only with book smarts, but also with the practical skills they would need to make a life for themselves. His photographs testify to his deep admiration for the legendary educator, and to the hope her tireless efforts brought to many Black students.