Macon, Georgia (April 13, 1854 – October 23, 1933) 79 yrs

Lucy Craft Laney was born free. This was 11 years before slavery was abolished by constitutional amendment after the end of the Civil War. She was the seventh of 10 children born to Louisa and David Laney. They were free people who were both formerly enslaved and strong believers in education. At the time of her birth, it was illegal in Georgia for Black people to learn to read. Lucy Learned to read at age four. She continued to study and attended Lewis (later Ballard) High School in Macon, Georgia. In 1869, she entered the first class of Atlanta University (later Clark Atlanta University). There, she prepared to be a teacher.^]She graduated from the school’s teacher training program (the Normal Department) in 1873. Laney worked as a teacher in Macon for ten years before deciding to open a school of her own.  In 1883, Laney opened the first school for Black students in Augusta Georgia 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. 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. Laney’s image was included in the 1945 painting ‘Women Builders’ by William H. Johnson as part of his Fighters for Freedom series.