Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site

This guide to the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House in Washington, D.C. traces her path from a childhood in South Carolina to advising a president, and her long search for a permanent headquarters for the National Council of Negro Women. It follows her move into this Vermont Avenue rowhouse in 1943, and the campaigns against poll taxes, lynching and hiring discrimination planned in its boardroom. Step into the parlor first, where her portrait still hangs above the chandelier.