Volusia County Council Approves $25,000 Contribution For Bethune Statue

DeLand, FL – Volusia County Council members approve a $25,000 contribution to go towards an indelible part of the area’s history. The money will go towards a similar, yet slightly smaller version of the marble statue of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune that will go to represent Florida at the National Statuary Hall in Washington DC. This version, however, will be cast in bronze and sit on a marble pedestal in Bethune Plaza in the upcoming Riverfront Esplanade. It will look down Bethune Boulevard and towards the school that bears her name. “I just think it’s really important that we be a part of this historic time,” Councilwoman Barb Girtman said. “It’s a legacy that we’ll never forget, and neither will our children, their children and those beyond.” The marble statue is expected to be revealed on July 13, according to Nancy Lohman, who was instrumental in the local push to get both statues made. Lohman and her group have also commissioned a feature-length documentary about Bethune’s life that they hope to debut the same day that the local statue is unveiled. Additionally, a school curriculum is being developed to teach students about Bethune’s legacy. “The Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune statuary project is, of course, a once in a lifetime project,” Lohman said to the Volusia County Council on Tuesday (Feb. 15). In total, it will cost about $150,000 to sculpt the bronze statue and another $30,000-$60,000 to create and install the pedestal. The County’s $25,000 contribution will come from the ECHO program. The ECHO Advisory Committee met to review the request on Thursday (Feb. 10) and unanimously recommended approval.  Council members approved the request on Tuesday, which included a vote from District 2 Councilwoman Billie Wheeler, who is on the statuary fundraising board with Lohman. “This is one of the greatest honors I’ve ever had,” said Wheeler. “It has been a journey. But it’s been one that we are all so proud of this historical moment.” Before it was shipped to Washington DC, the marble statue—sculpted from the same marble as Michelangelo’s “David”—was revealed in October 2021 during a grand unveiling at the News-Journal Center. The center would end up being the statue’s home during a brief two-month residency before it was slated to go to DC. Come July, Bethune’s statue will replace that of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, who was initially part of Florida’s addition to Statuary Hall, alongside John Gorrie, who is considered the grandfather of air conditioning. Nilda Comas, the Florida woman who sculpted the statue, said the project came to fruition over the span of four years. She added that out of the 10 finalists chosen for the project, she was the only woman and the only person experienced in sculpting in marble. The 8-foot-tall bronze statue has a tentative unveiling date set for August 18 at Bethune Plaza in the Riverfront Esplanade Park, where it will remain permanently.