Mary McLeod Bethune, Daytona Beach, ca. 1904.
Courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.

The Black Rose Society

A National Academic Honor Society for Black Girls

Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune called her girls her Black Roses rare, brilliant, beautiful,

and worthy of every opportunity to bloom. The Black Rose Society carries that legacy forward.

We are a national academic honor society created to recognize, celebrate, and elevate Black Girls whose brilliance too often goes unnamed, under-celebrated, or left off the lists that claim to honor excellence.

Here, achievement is not treated as an exception. Here, Black Girl brilliance is expected, protected, and celebrated.

The Black Rose Society honors students who are doing the work, in the classroom, in their communities, in their families, in their leadership, and in their becoming. Because our girls deserve more than a line on a report card.

They deserve a society.

Our Mission

The mission of The Black Rose Society is to recognize and celebrate academic achievement, leadership, service, cultural pride, and personal excellence among Black girls and young women across the African Diaspora. We exist to make sure Black Girls are seen, named, documented, and honored for the brilliance they bring into the world.

Mary Jane McLeod was born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina

Who We Honor

The Black Rose Society honors Black girls and young women who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, service, and commitment to personal growth.

Membership begins with a minimum 3.0 GPA and requires submission of an official transcript or verified academic record.

Eligible students may be recognized through our national honor roll, local chapter opportunities, digital recognition, graduation honors, and society programming.

Eligibility

Students may apply for membership in The Black Rose Society if they:

-Have a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA

-Submit an official transcript or verified academic record

-Identify as a Black girl or young woman of the African Diaspora

-Demonstrate leadership, service, creativity, or commitment to community

-Agree to uphold the values of The Black Rose Society

-Membership is open to students across middle school, high school, college, and graduate school.

Mary M. Bethune, principal. 1910 (circa).
State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.

Mary McLeod Bethune with graduating class. 1928. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory

Elementary & Middle School

Rooted Scholars are our youngest members, building the foundation for a lifelong relationship with learning, leadership, and self-worth.

This level recognizes elementary and middle school girls who are developing curiosity, confidence, discipline, cultural pride, and early academic excellence. Rooted Scholars are learning that their brilliance does not begin when they get older. It begins now.

Before a rose can bloom, it must be rooted. Rooted Scholars are grounded in identity, supported by community, and reminded early that they belong among the honored.

Rooted Scholars focus on:

Academic confidence
Reading and learning habits
Character development
Cultural pride
Early leadership
Community and sisterhood
Self-worth and belonging

Graduate, Doctoral & Professional Degrees

Halfeti Scholars are graduate, doctoral, and professional degree candidates who embody rare excellence in scholarship, research, leadership, and legacy-building. Named for the rare Halfeti rose, this level honors advanced scholars whose work reflects discipline, depth, purpose, and impact. Halfeti Scholars represent the deepest bloom: rooted, rare, and impossible to ignore.

This level recognizes Black women and young women pursuing advanced study in classrooms, laboratories, institutions, communities, and professional fields where their presence matters deeply. Halfeti Scholars are not only earning degrees. They are expanding what is possible.

Halfeti Scholars focus on:

Advanced scholarship
Research and thought leadership
Professional excellence
Institution-building
Mentorship
Legacy work
Community impact
Representation in advanced fields
Pathway-building for younger scholars

high school

Budding Scholars are high school students growing visibly in scholarship, leadership, service, and purpose.

This level honors scholars who are preparing for college, career, community leadership, and the next stage of their becoming. Budding Scholars are no longer just discovering their brilliance. They are beginning to show it boldly.

They are studying, serving, leading, creating, organizing, and preparing to step into the world with confidence.

Budding Scholars may be eligible for honor roll recognition, induction ceremonies, graduation cords, leadership opportunities, scholarship resources, and public celebration through The Black Rose Society.

Budding Scholars focus on:

Academic achievement
College and career readiness
Leadership development
Community service
Public speaking and confidence
Scholarship opportunities
Graduation honors
Legacy-building

College

Bloom Scholars are undergraduate students actively blooming in higher education, leadership, service, and purpose.

This level recognizes college scholars who are continuing their academic journey while staying rooted in identity, community, and legacy. Bloom Scholars represent Black girl brilliance in motion, growing boldly, leading intentionally, and making room for those who will bloom after them.

Bloom Scholars are not only pursuing degrees. They are shaping futures, building networks, leading on campus, and becoming the women they once needed to see.

Bloom Scholars focus on:

Academic persistence
Campus leadership
Mentorship
Career development
Civic engagement
Sisterhood and networking
Community impact
Personal and professional growth

The Black Rose Honor Roll

The Black Rose Honor Roll is a national recognition list celebrating Black girls and young women who have earned a 3.0 GPA or higher. Created to document and uplift academic excellence, the Honor Roll gives scholars a place of prestige where their hard work can be seen, named, and celebrated.

Students accepted into The Black Rose Society may be featured on the Honor Roll, receive digital recognition, and become eligible for society honors, graduation cords, programming, and future leadership opportunities.

Graduation Honors

Graduating members of The Black Rose Society may be eligible to receive official Black Rose Society graduation cords.

Graduation cords are available to verified members for a $10 cord fee and serve as a visible symbol of scholarship, sisterhood, and legacy.

To receive graduation cords, students must:

Be accepted as a member of The Black Rose Society
Submit verified academic documentation
Meet the minimum 3.0 GPA requirement
Complete the graduation cord request form by the stated deadline
Pay the $10 cord fee

These cords are more than graduation accessories. They are a reminder that Black girls have always belonged among the honored.

What Members Receive

Members of The Black Rose Society may receive:

Official membership recognition
Digital certificate of induction
Listing on the Black Rose Honor Roll
Access to society programming and leadership opportunities
Graduation cord eligibility
Scholarship and college-readiness resources
Mentorship opportunities
Opportunities to be featured by The Black Girl Tribe
Connection to a national community of Black girl scholars

For Schools, Organizations & Community Partners

The Black Rose Society partners with schools, youth organizations, churches, mentoring programs, college access programs, and community groups that want to intentionally recognize the academic excellence of Black Girls.

Partners may nominate eligible students, host induction ceremonies, support local chapters, and help create meaningful moments of public recognition for scholars in their communities. When Black Girls are honored, something shifts. They stand taller.

Their families show up prouder. Their communities remember what is possible. And younger girls begin to imagine themselves as scholars too.

MMB with students 1905 (Florida Memory) - Museum Educator.jpg

Mary McLeod Bethune with her students at the one-room schoolhouse she founded, the Daytona Normal and Industrial School for Negro Girls, 1905. Credit: Library of Congress

SUBMIT AN APPLICATION

"I leave you love. I leave you hope. I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. I leave you a thirst for education. I leave you a respect for the use of power. I leave you faith. I leave you racial dignity. I leave you a desire to live harmoniously with your fellow men. I leave you finally, a responsibility to our young people.”

- Mary McLeod Bethune

Mary McLeod Bethune, Daytona Beach, ca. 1904. Courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.