{{Short description|American educator (1854–1933)}} {{Use American English|date=April 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Lucy Craft Laney | image = Lucy C. Laney.jpg | birth_date = {{Birth date|1854|04|13}} | birth_place = [[Macon, Georgia|Macon]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], United States | death_date = {{Death date and age|1933|10|23|1854|04|13}} | education = [[Atlanta University]]<br>[[University of Chicago]]<br>[[Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)|Lincoln University]]<br>[[South Carolina State College]] | alma_mater = Atlanta University | occupation = Principal | years_active = 1886–1933 | employer = Haines Normal and Industrial School | known_for = Principal and founder of Haines Normal and Industrial School, Augusta, Georgia | political_party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] }}
'''Lucy Craft Laney''' (April 13, 1854 – October 23, 1933)<ref name=":0" /> was an American educator who in 1883 founded the first school for black children in [[Augusta, Georgia]]. She was principal for 50 years of the '''Haines Institute for Industrial and Normal Education'''.
==Early life== Lucy Craft Laney was born free on April 13, 1854, in [[Macon, Georgia|Macon]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], 11 years before slavery was abolished by constitutional amendment after the end of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. She was the seventh of 10 children born to Louisa and David Laney, free people who were both formerly enslaved. Her father had saved enough money to buy his freedom and that of his wife about 20 years before Lucy's birth.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/education/lucy-craft-laney-1854-1933|title=Lucy Craft Laney (1854–1933)|website=New Georgia Encyclopedia|language=en|access-date=April 24, 2018}}</ref> Both her parents were strong believers in education and were very giving to strangers; this upbringing would strongly influence Laney in her life.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Feger|first=H. V.|title=A Girl Who Became a Great Woman|date=1942|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/44246284|journal=Negro History Bulletin|volume=5|issue=6|page=123|jstor=44246284|issn=0028-2529}}</ref>
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.<ref name="LCL">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Leslie|first=Kent Anderson|title=Lucy Craft Laney|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-820|encyclopedia=The New Georgia Encyclopedia|publisher=Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press|access-date=April 8, 2012}}</ref> She graduated from the school's teacher training program (the Normal Department) in 1873.<ref name=":0" />
==Teaching career== Laney worked as a teacher in Macon, [[Milledgeville, Georgia|Milledgeville]], and [[Savannah, Georgia]] for ten years before deciding to open a school of her own.<ref name='WWICA-1933'>{{cite book |editor1-first=Thomas |editor1-last=Yenser |title=Who's Who in Colored America: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Persons of African Descent in America 1930-1931-1932|edition=Third |year=1933 |publisher=Who's Who in Colored America |location=Brooklyn, New York }}</ref>
Due to health reasons, she settled in [[Augusta, Georgia|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.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
With the increase in students, she needed more funding for her operation. She attended the northern [[Presbyterian Church (USA)|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.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}
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.<ref name='WWICA-1933'/>
==Haines Normal and Industrial Institute== [[File:Cadets at Haines Normal and Industrial Institute, Augusta, Georgia LCCN2003652514.tif|thumb|Cadets at the school]] [[File:Kindergarten at Haines Normal and Industrial Institute, Augusta, Georgia LCCN96502560.tif|thumb|Kindergarten class at the school]] [[File:Sewing class at Haines Normal and Industrial Institute, Augusta, Georgia LCCN2003652513.jpg|thumb|Sewing class]] '''Haines Normal and Industrial Institute''' was a school for African Americans in Augusta, Georgia established by Lucy Craft Laney. It was named in honor of a benefactor who funded its expansion. A historical marker was added to the school site in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/haines-normal-and-industrial-institute/|title=Haines Normal and Industrial Institute|accessdate=April 19, 2021}}</ref> It eventually became [[Lucy Craft Laney High School]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vault.georgiaarchives.org/digital/collection/vg2/id/13574/|title=CONTENTdm|website=vault.georgiaarchives.org|accessdate=November 8, 2022}}</ref>
Laney opened a school with a few students in 1883.<ref name=blog>{{Cite web|url=https://thepbsblog.com/tag/haines-normal-and-industrial-institute/|title=Haines Normal and Industrial Institute|website=The PBS Blog|date=July 5, 2018 }}</ref> She served as the school's principal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/education/lucy-craft-laney-1854-1933|title=Lucy Craft Laney (1854-1933)|website=New Georgia Encyclopedia}}</ref> Chartered in 1886, it was expanded with a kindergarten and junior college (Lamar School of Nursing).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=34807|title=Haines Normal and Industrial Institute Historical Marker|website=hmdb.org|accessdate=November 8, 2022}}</ref> By 1928, it had more than 800 students. The school also served as a community center.<ref name=blog/>
Photographs of the school were gathered by [[W.E.B. Du Bois]] and [[Thomas J. Calloway]] for the American Negro Exhibit at the [[Paris Exposition of 1900]] (Exposition universelle internationale de 1900).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2002716300/|title=Teachers and students at Haines Normal and Industrial Institute, Augusta, Ga|website=[[Library of Congress]]|accessdate=November 8, 2022}}</ref> In 1928, negotiations were engaged to have Du Bois speak at the school.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth-oai:ff368n84t|title=Letter from unidentified correspondent to Haines Institute|website=digitalcommonwealth.org|accessdate=April 19, 2021}}</ref>
It was supported by the Presbyterian Board of National Missions. A.C. Griggs served as president of the school.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/vieilles_annonces/14889476580/|title=Haines Institute in Augusta, Georgia - Crisis Magazine, August, 1940|date=Aug 29, 2014|accessdate=April 19, 2021|via=Flickr}}</ref>
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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://docsouth.unc.edu/church/haley/haley.html#p110 |title=James T. Haley. Afro-American Encyclopaedia; or, the Thoughts, Doings, and Sayings of the Race, Embracing Lectures, Biographical Sketches, Sermons, Poems, Names of Universities, Colleges, Seminaries, Newspapers, Books, and a History of the Denominations, Giving the Numerical Strength of Each. In Fact, it Teaches Every Subject of Interest to the Colored People, as Discussed by More Than One Hundred of Their Wisest and Best Men and Women|accessdate=November 8, 2022}}</ref>
== 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 [[NAACP|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's Clubs|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).<ref name=":0" />
== Honors and recognition == In 1974, Governor [[Jimmy Carter]] arranged to hang the first portraits of African Americans in the [[Georgia State Capitol|Georgia state capitol]] to honor their contributions: included were Lucy Craft Laney, the [[Henry McNeal Turner|Reverend Henry McNeal Turner]], and the [[Martin Luther King Jr.|Reverend Martin Luther King Jr]]. In 1992, Laney was inducted into "[[Georgia Women of Achievement]]."<ref name=":0" />
== Personal life == Laney died on October 23, 1933,<ref>{{cite news |title=Lucy Laney Dies At Augusta Home |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/108686537/obituary-for-lucy-laney/ |access-date=31 August 2022 |work=The Macon Telegraph |date=24 Oct 1933}}</ref> and is buried at the corner of [[Transportation in Augusta, Georgia#Laney Walker Boulevard|Laney Walker Boulevard]] and Phillips Street, where she first founded the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute.<ref name="georgiahistory_laney"/>
=== Legacy === The site of Laney's burial was redeveloped for the [[Lucy Craft Laney High School|Lucy Craft Laney Comprehensive High School]], named in her honor. Her grave and memorial remain undisturbed.<ref name='WWICA-1933'/><ref name="georgiahistory_laney">[http://georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/lucy-craft-laney-1854-1933/ "Lucy Craft Laney"], GeorgiaHistory.com. Accessed November 8, 2022.</ref>
Other schools named for her are: *Lucy Laney Elementary School in [[Harris County, Georgia]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Seibert|first1=David|title=Lucy Laney Elementary School|url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/harris/lucy-laney-elementary-school|website=GeorgiaInfo: an Online Georgia Almanac|publisher=Digital Library of Georgia|access-date=1 December 2016}}</ref> *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]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lucy Craft Laney Historical Marker|url=https://www.georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/lucy-craft-laney/|website=Georgiahistory.com|access-date=1 May 2024}}</ref>
Laney's image was included in the 1945 painting [[Women Builders (painting)|Women Builders]] by [[William H. Johnson (artist)|William H. Johnson]] as part of his ''Fighters for Freedom'' series.<ref name="Robinson">{{cite web |last1=Robinson |first1=Shantay |title=How Painting Portraits of Freedom Fighters Became William H. Johnson's Life's Work |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-it-became-william-h-johnsons-lifes-work-to-paint-portraits-of-freedom-fighters-180983933/ |website=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=14 July 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="SAAM">{{cite web |title=Women Builders |url=https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/women-builders-12691 |website=Smithsonian American Art Museum |access-date=14 July 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Lucy Craft Laney}} * [http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/harris/lucy-laney-elementary-school Lucy Laney Elementary School] historical marker *{{Find a Grave|14775435|Lucy Craft Laney}} {{Georgia Women of Achievement}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laney, Lucy Craft}} [[Category:1854 births]] [[Category:People from Macon, Georgia]] [[Category:People from Augusta, Georgia]] [[Category:Clark Atlanta University alumni]] [[Category:1933 deaths]] [[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans]] [[Category:19th-century American educators]] [[Category:19th-century American women educators]] [[Category:20th-century American educators]] [[Category:20th-century American women educators]] [[Category:Educators from Georgia (U.S. state)]] [[Category:20th-century African-American women]] [[Category:20th-century African-American educators]] [[Category:19th-century African-American educators]]