Charles White (American, 1918–1979) Mary McLeod Bethune, 1978 Groundbreaking educator and civic leader Mary McLeod Bethune is the statuesque central figure in Charles White’s mural for the Los Angeles Public Library. With education and learning as the central theme, White’s mural emphasizes black families and the significance of music, education, and culture. Behind the figures, White excerpted key points from Bethune’s My Last Will and Testament. It details the deeply held values she hoped would be her legacy: such powerful forces as love, hope, faith, a thirst for education, respect for the uses of power, and racial dignity.