Lucy Craft Laney

Lucy Craft Laney (April 13, 1854 – October 23, 1933) Both her parents were strong believers in education and were very giving to strangers; this upbringing would strongly influence Laney in her life.

At the time of her birth it was illegal in Georgia for black people to learn to read. But with the help of Ms. Campbell, her parents' former enslaver's sister, Lucy learned to read at the age of four. She continued to study and attended Lewis (later Ballard) High School in Macon, Georgia, a mission school run by the American Missionary Association. In 1869 she entered the first class of Atlanta University (later Clark Atlanta University), where she prepared to be a teacher. She graduated from the school's teacher training program (the Normal Department) in 1873.

Due to health reasons, she settled in Augusta, Georgia, where she founded the city's first school for black children. Her first class in 1883 had six students, but Laney quickly attracted interest in the African-American community. By the end of the second year, the school had 234 students.

With the increase in students, she needed more funding for her operation. She attended the northern Presbyterian Church Convention in 1886 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and pleaded her case there, but was initially turned down. One of the attendees, Francine E. H. Haines, later declared an interest in and donated $10,000 to Laney for the school. With this money, Laney expanded her offerings. She changed the school's name to The Haines Normal and Industrial Institute in honor of her benefactor and to indicate its goals of industrial and teacher training.

The school eventually grew to encompass an entire city block of buildings. By 1928, at a time when public education was still segregated, the school's enrollment was more than 800 students. It eventually became Lucy Craft Laney High School.

Laney opened a school with a few students in 1883. She served as the school's principal. Chartered in 1886, it was expanded with a kindergarten and junior college (Lamar School of Nursing). By 1928, it had more than 800 students. The school also served as a community center. In 1928, negotiations were engaged to have Du Bois speak at the school.

It was supported by the Presbyterian Board of National Missions. A.C. Griggs served as president of the school.

Sewing, laundry, and printing were taught in a building on the campus. An entity on the school appeared in James T. Haley's Afro-American Encyclopaedia.

NAACP and other organizations While living in Augusta, Laney joined the Niagara Movement, founded in 1905. Later in 1918 she helped to found the local chapter of the successor civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She was also active in other organizations to promote the welfare of blacks and black women: the Interracial Commission, and the National Association of Colored Women. She also helped to integrate the community work engaged in by the YMCA and YWCA (which had separate organizations for white and black residents, respectively). and is buried at the corner of Laney Walker Boulevard and Phillips Street, where she first founded the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute.

Other schools named for her are: Lucy Laney Elementary School in Harris County, Georgia Lucy Craft Laney Community School, serving PK-5th grade students in North Minneapolis, Minnesota

In 2005, the Georgia Historical Society erected a Georgia historical marker recognizing Lucy Craft Laney. The marker is located at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History in Augusta, Georgia.

Laney's image was included in the 1945 painting Women Builders by William H. Johnson as part of his Fighters for Freedom series.