Continuing our Friday features, we honor a woman whose influence is etched into the very soil of Washington, D.C.: Mary McLeod Bethune. A visionary educator, civil rights leader, and advisor to presidents, Bethune dedicated her life to the belief that “the progress of the world will be in the hands of the women.” ✨ Bethune’s work was centered on the idea that Black women deserved an equal seat at every table. In 1935, she founded the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) right here in the District, creating a powerhouse for advocacy that fought for equal rights and economic opportunity. Her legacy is literally memorialized in D.C.’s Lincoln Park, where she became the first African American woman to be honored with a statue on public land in the nation’s capital. Her life’s work for the equality of women serves as the foundation for the spaces we occupy today. In the world of sports, Bethune’s advocacy for women’s leadership and physical education paved the way for the professiona...