Mary McLeod Bethune statue unveiling: Key facts and how to watch
DAYTONA BEACH — After an arduous five-year process that involved a series of state and federal approvals, a fundraising effort that generated nearly $1 million, logistical challenges and unimagined complications that included a global pandemic, the towering marble statue honoring Mary McLeod Bethune will be unveiled this week in Washington, D.C.
At 11 a.m. Wednesday, the sculpture that was artfully chiseled out of a 13-foot-long block of precious marble will be dedicated in the U.S. Capitol Building’s National Statuary Hall.
More about the unveiling: Mary McLeod Bethune statue unveiling this week at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.
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Civic leaders and elected officials in Daytona Beach see the milestone as an opportunity to introduce the world to the accomplishments of one of the city’s iconic figures, depicted in a statue that was conceived and created with meticulous attention to detail.
Following Wednesday's unveiling, the Bethune statue will be one of the two statues representing Florida in the Capitol, replacing a nearly 100-year-old bronze sculpture of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith.
Bethune's statue will be the first representing a Black person, male or female, in the state collection inside Statuary Hall. There are four other Black people represented in other parts of the Capitol: Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Rosa Parks.
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The Smith statue was removed this past fall and will be placed in temporary storage at the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee.
Here are key facts about the Bethune statue itself:
What is the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune statue made of?
The artist who created the work, master sculptor Nilda Comas, painstakingly carved the likeness of Bethune from an 11.5-ton block of precious statuario marble excavated from Michelangelo’s cave in the Apuan Italian Alps in Tuscany. The black marble used for the rose on the statue came from Spain.
The 13-foot-long block of Italian marble could be the last ever culled from the Tuscan quarry Michelangelo used for his masterpiece statue of David more than 500 years ago.
Where was the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune statue created?
Comas created the statue by hand in her studio in Pietrasanta, Italy, where she lives part of the year when she’s not in Fort Lauderdale. She completed the piece in June 2021, and it went on display in the town square in July.
The statue was then crated and shipped to the United States. The work of art landed at the port of Savannah on Sept. 23 and was off-loaded in early October.
The shipping container holding the statue was driven to Daytona Beach a few days later on a flatbed truck to the News-Journal Center, where it was on public display for two months.
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How big is the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune statue?
The new Bethune sculpture stands 11 feet tall including the marble base. It tips the scales at 6,129 pounds — 3 tons.
Symbolism by design
The sculpture has Bethune wearing a graduation cap and gown to emphasize her lifelong commitment to education. Bethune was the first person in her family to learn to read and write. The cap and gown are only one of the symbolic elements in the statue’s design.
The black rose
The presence of the black rose is tied to a visit that Bethune made in 1927 to a European garden filled with roses in a rainbow of colors. She saw it as an interracial garden and had a vision of how all people could peacefully thrive together, side by side.
That visit was the first time she had seen a black velvet rose. For her, it became a symbol of diversity and acceptance of individuality. She also started referring to her students as black roses.
Books at the base
The stack of books at Bethune's feet on the base of the statue have a structural purpose: They were added to balance the weight of the marble sculpture. Symbolically, each book also is inscribed with a different tenet of Bethune’s last will and testament, addressing her core values.
The top book cover is engraved with “I Leave You,” and the spines of the books below say love, hope, faith, racial dignity, a thirst for education, courage and peace.
The walking stick
Bethune collected walking sticks, which she believed symbolized refinement and leadership.
The walking stick represented on the statue is the likeness of the one she received from President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It signifies the relationship she cultivated with FDR, the profound respect she engendered on the national stage, and her commitment to advancing opportunities for African Americans and women.
What is the inscription on the base of the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune statue?
The sculpture's pedestal is engraved with gold lettering that says "Florida" to let viewers in Washington, D.C. know the state it represents. Also included are Bethune's name, her dates of birth and death, and one of her famous quotes: "Invest in the human soul. Who knows, it may be a diamond in the rough."
About the unveiling ceremony
When: 11 a.m. Wednesday
Where: The event takes place at Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C,
Who will attend? National political leaders expected to be at the event include Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Rick Scott, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Majority Whip James Clyburn, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL), U.S. Rep. Val Demings (D-FL) and U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL).
The event also will be attended by Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry, Bethune-Cookman University Interim President Lawrence M. Drake II, sculptor Nilda Comas and a contingent of area civic leaders involved in the completion of the project.
How can I watch? The 11 a.m. ceremony will be broadcast live on WESH-Channel 2 as well as the station’s website, wesh.com, said Nancy Lohman, president of the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Statuary Fund. There also will be a link for a livestream feed available at speaker.gov/live.
In addition, there also will be a free community watch party that starts at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center on the campus of Bethune-Cookman University, 698 W. International Speedway Blvd. in Daytona Beach.
Those interested in attending that event, either in person or virtually, are asked to register at BCUWatchParty.Eventbrite.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Mary McLeod Bethune statue in Washington D.C.: What to know about iconic art
