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Difficulty: MediumBlack Education, HBCUs, and Philosophical Debates

Read the following excerpt from an 1899 address by educator Lucy Craft Laney:

'The educated colored woman has a burden to lift, a work to do... She must be a teacher of teachers, a leader of leaders, who will go into the homes of the neglected and teach them the laws of health, of decency, of order, of proper living... The educated colored woman must not only teach the intellect, but she must reform the home.'

Based on the excerpt, which of the following best describes Lucy Craft Laney's perspective on the primary purpose of education for Black women in the post-Reconstruction era?

  1. A
    To align with white women's suffrage groups by focusing educational curricula on individual political rights rather than community welfare.
  2. B
    To prepare Black women to emigrate and establish missionary schools in West Africa rather than working within the South.
  3. To cultivate leaders who would use their intellectual and moral training to uplift Black families and communities.Answer
  4. D
    To prioritize abstract classical studies over community reform in order to match the curriculum of white institutions.

Answer

To cultivate leaders who would use their intellectual and moral training to uplift Black families and communities.
In her 1899 address, Lucy Craft Laney emphasizes that educated Black women carry a unique responsibility to act as 'teacher of teachers' and 'leader of leaders.' She argues that education should not only develop the intellect but also be applied directly to reforming the home and community, thereby uplifting the entire race. This highlights the dual role of intellectual training and social mission in early Black women's education.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the prompt and the provided excerpt by Lucy Craft Laney from 1899.
Identify the core message, which focuses on the responsibility of the 'educated colored woman' to act as a leader, teach others, and reform the home.
To understand the author's primary argument regarding the purpose of education.
2
Evaluate the options against Laney's stated goals of combining intellectual development with social and community uplift.
The statement emphasizing the cultivation of leaders for community and family uplift aligns directly with her call to be 'a leader of leaders' and to 'reform the home.'
To determine which option accurately reflects the text's emphasis on educational utility for racial progress.

Key Concept

The philosophical debate surrounding the purpose and scope of education for Black women in the late nineteenth century.
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Topics

Black Education, HBCUs, and Philosophical Debates

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