Education: Matriarch

Mary McLeod Bethune starts her working day with prayer. In her Washington, D.C. office she reads to her fellow workers from The Optimist's Good Morning, a devotional hand-me-down from the late John D. Rockefeller. One of her favorite passages begins: "With this new day, O God, let some new strength be mine." The staff of the National Council of Negro Women says a fervent amen. Though she was 71 last week, Mary Bethune still runs them ragged.

Last week warmhearted Mrs. Bethune, widely regarded as her race's First Lady, paid a flying birthday visit...