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Lucy Craft Laney...
ucy mot]wr‘(éttlw chiggz)gf the people
Ms. Lucy Craft Laney has gone -
down in history as one of the state of
Georgia’s most influential educational
leaders. As a child of Georgia she is in
league with other outstanding black
heroes from Georgia such as Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights
leader, and Dr. Henry McNeil Turner,
the first black chaplain in the U.S.
Army and the first black in the
Georgia Legislature. Ms. Laney’s con
tributions in the area of education are
a tribute to perseverance, dedication
and unwavering faith.
Birth of an American hero
Ms. Lucy Craft Laney was born
in Macon, Georgia on April 13, 1854,
11 years before slavery ended. She was
the seventh of 10 children born to Rev.
and Mrs. David Laney. Rev. Laney was
a noteworthy Presbyterian minister
and an outstanding carpenter. Using
the money he saved doing side jobs,
Mr. Laney was able to purchase his
wife’s freedom and promise his chil
dren a better life.
Although there were laws that
prohibited blacks from reading during
Ms. Laney’s time, with the help of Ms.
Campbell, the slave owner’s sister,
Lucy was able to read by the time she
was four. Ms. Campbell’s generosity
and her parent’s open arm policy with
strangers and family taught Lucy the
importance of giving and sharing.
These lessons would be the foundation
for her success. In 1869 at the age of
15, Lucy entered the first class of
Atlanta University. In 1873, she gradu
ated with three other students and
went on to start a teaching career that
would change the lives of an entire _
community of people and influence the
nation.
Educating the children
of the people
Ms. Laney began her teaching
career in Macon and Savannah before
settling in Augusta, Georgia due to
health reasons. With the encourage
ment of the Christ Presbyterian
Church, USA, Ms. Laney started the
The History of Black Americans in Augusta, Georgia
first school in Augusta, Georgia for
black boys and girls. The school
opened on January 6, 1883 in the base
ment of the Christ Presbyterian
Church then located on 10th and
Telfair Streets with little money
and only six students. Ms.
Laney did not have much, _
but what she did have g w
was dedication and
determination,
which would prove
to be all this
unique woman
would need. In
1888, the first
class was
graduated
from Ms.
Laney’s
school. By
that time,
the school
had 234 stu
dents and
needed a big
ger facility and
more money.
Alessonin - @&
perseverance ¥ =
Armed with a Q
one-way ticket, only a
little money, her prayers
and her desire, Ms. Laney
traveled to Minnesota to tell the 8
Presbyterian Church Convention
about her school and to request fund
ing so that they could expand.
Unfortunately, although Ms.
Laney spoke well, she was unable to
convince the Convention to commit to
funding her school. However, they did
pay for her return trip home. Ms.
Laney was unsure how she would pro
ceed from there, but knew that her
mission was a good one and that her
school would continue. Shortly after
her trip to Minnesota, Ms. Laney
received a letter from Mrs. Francine E.
H. Haines, president of the Woman’s
Department of the Presbyterian
Church, USA who had heard her
speak at the convention. Mrs. Haines
was so impressed with Ms. Laney and
her mission that she was able to secure
funding for the expansion of the
school in the amount of SIO,OOO. Ms.
Laney was so touched by the kindness
of this stranger that she
named the new
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Industrial
Institute. In
1886, the
Haines Normal
School was chartered by the
state of Georgia and moved into its
new location at 800 Gwinett Street
(now Laney-Walker Blvd.)
A modern day woman
Ms. Laney was a forward thinking
person. She believed that the only way
for blacks to be successful in America
was by being well educated. She also
believed that in order for the race to
continue its women must be educated
as well. Ms. Laney’s students studied
the classics, Latin, Algebra, and vari
ous trades. Ms. Laney produced well
rounded young adults who also studied
the arts and music and participated in
sports. Ms. Laney assured that stu-
dents who graduated from Haines
Normal were ready to compete in soci
ety.
Caring for her people
In addition to starting her own
school, the Haines Normal and
Industrial Institute, Ms. Laney started
the first black kindergarten in
Augusta, Georgia and the first black
nursing school in the city, the Lamar
School of Nursing. Many people were
influenced by the work that Ms. Laney
did at Haines. Ms. Mary McCloud
Bethune, who worked with Ms. Laney
for a year, was so impressed by Ms.
Laney’s accomplishments that she
went back to Florida and founded
Bethune-Cookman College for Blacks.
A worthy honoree
Throughout her life Ms. Laney
received many honors. President Ware
of Atlanta University paid many trib
utes to her and she receive several hon
orary degrees from various other col
leges and universities. After her death,
the Lucy Craft Laney High School
was named in her honor, Gwinnett
Street was renamed Laney-Walker
Boulevard in her honor and that of Dr.
Charles T. Walker, pastor, civic leader
and founder of Tabernacle Baptist
Church and co-founder of Atlanta
University. There are several other
schools throughout the U.S. that have
been named in Ms. Laney’s honor. In
1974, in honor of her contributions to
Georgia and its children, the portrait
of Ms. Laney was commissioned and
unveiled in the Georgia State Capitol.
After her home was restored in 1991,
it was reopened as the Lucy Craft
Laney Museum of Black History in an
effort to continue to keep Ms. Laney’s
memory alive.
Her legacy lives on
After a life of selfless dedication
to the education of her people Ms.
Laney died on October 23, 1933 from
nephritis and hypertension. However,
Ms. Laney’s spirit lives on and her
strong legacy continues to this day.