Carolina QuotesThe Freedom Gates are half-ajar. We must pry them fully open. If I have a legacy to leave my people, it is my philosophy of living and serving. As I face tomorrow, I am content, for I think I have spent my life well. I pray now that my philosophy may be helpful to those who share my vision of a world of Peace, Progress, Brotherhood, and Love.
Mary McLeod Bethune
Carolinian
Source
"My Last Will and Testament," Ebony, August 1955; text via the Florence County Museum, Florence, South Carolina
- form
- essay
- work
- My Last Will and Testament
- year
- 1955
Cite this record
“The Freedom Gates are half-ajar. We must pry them fully open…” Mary McLeod Bethune. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-366CA5086C. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/366ca5086c
More from Mary McLeod Bethune
The true worth of a race must be measured by the character of its womanhood.
When the ballot was made available to the Womanhood of America, the sister of darker hue was not slow to seize the advantage. In sections where the Negro could gain access to the voting booth, the intelligent, forward-looking element of the Race's women have taken hold of political issues with an enthusiasm and mental acumen that might well set worthy examples for other groups. Oftimes she has led the struggle toward moral improvement and political record, and has compelled her reluctant brother to follow her determined lead.
Power, intelligently directed, can lead to more freedom. Unwisely directed, it can be a dreadful, destructive force.