Lucy Craft Laney was born April 13, 1854 in Macon, Georgia. She was the daughter of former slaves. She was taught to read by her mother as an adolescent. At the age of 15, she enrolled at Atlanta University, and then she graduated in 1873. From the university, she went to educate African Americans, and later, opened her own school in 1883. The Haines Normal and Industrial Institute (formally known as Lucy Craft Laney) started out with a handful of people, but within the second year the institute had 200 students. In the 1890s, the institution was one of the first schools to offer kindergarten classes to African Americans. Later, it also opened a training center for black women to become nurses. Lucy Laney died on October 23, 1933 in Augusta,
