Council approves $25,000 contribution for Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune statue

Posted On: February 15, 2022

It will be a beacon of unity and an indelible part of the county’s history.

And Tuesday, the Volusia County Council eagerly approved a $25,000 contribution to help pay for a bronze statue of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune that will adorn Daytona Beach. Very similar, though slightly smaller than the marble sculpture that will represent Florida in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the bronze statue’s home will be the Bethune pavilion at the Riverfront Esplanade Park that’s under construction along the west bank of the Halifax River in downtown Daytona Beach. The statue will sit atop a marble pedestal and face west in the direction of Bethune-Cookman University, which Dr. Bethune founded. A passionate educator, Dr. Bethune also was a civil rights pioneer, presidential advisor and charter member of the United Nations.

The marble sculpture spent two months on public display at the News-Journal Center in Daytona Beach before making its way to Washington, D.C. It’s scheduled to be unveiled in Statuary Hall on July 13, according to Nancy Lohman, who spearheaded the local efforts to get both statues funded and built. The 8-foot-tall bronze statue is tentatively scheduled to have its unveiling at Riverfront Esplanade Park on Aug. 18, where it will remain on display for the public’s enjoyment.

“I just think it’s really important that we be a part of this historic time,” Councilwoman Barb Girtman said in support of the county’s $25,000 contribution. “It’s a legacy that we’ll never forget, and neither will our children, their children and those beyond.”

In addition to the two statues, Lohman and her group have also commissioned a feature-length documentary about Dr. Bethune’s life that they hope to premier on the same day that the local statue is unveiled. A school curriculum also is being developed to teach K-12 students about the legacy of Dr. Bethune, who died at her home in Daytona Beach in 1955 at the age of 79.

“The Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune statuary project is, of course, a once in a lifetime project,” Lohman told the County Council on Tuesday.

According to Lohman, the costs associated with the bronze statue include $150,000 to sculpt it and another approximately $30,000-$60,000 to create and install the pedestal. The County’s $25,000 contribution will come from the ECHO program that voters approved to help fund the acquisition, restoration, construction and improvement of environmental, cultural, historic and outdoor recreation projects for public use. The statue fulfills both the cultural and historic components of the program. The ECHO Advisory Committee reviewed the funding request on Thursday and unanimously recommended approval. County Council members eagerly and enthusiastically approved the request on Tuesday, including Councilwoman Billie Wheeler, who serves on the statuary fundraising board along with Lohman.

“This is one of the greatest honors I’ve ever had,” said Wheeler. “It has been a journey. But it’s been one that we are all so proud of this historical moment.”