The Chicago Defender, the first African-American weekly newspaper. Abbott was born to formerly enslaved parents on November 24, 1870, in St. Simons Island, Georgia. After attending Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia, from 1892 to 1896 and graduating from Kent College of Law in Chicago, Illinois, in 1898, Abbott made several attempts to establish law officers throughout the Midwest, but was unable to due to racial prejudice. He then went on to found The Chicago Defender, which was the most widely circulated black newspaper in the country and commonly referred to as "America's Black Newspaper." Daytona Beach-based educator and civil rights activist Dr. Dr. Mary Jane McLeod Bethune also wrote weekly columns for the paper between 1948 and 1955. Abbott died of Bright's Disease in Chicago on February 29, 1940, and is buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Illinois.]]> Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation, Daytona Beach, Florida.]]> Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation, Daytona Beach, Florida.]]> Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation Collection, Daytona Beach Collection, Volusia County Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation and is provided here by RICHES of Central Florida for educational purposes only.]]>