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Vivian Ayers Allen

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Vivian Ayers Allen
Born
Vivian Elizabeth Ayers

(1923-07-29)July 29, 1923
Chester, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedAugust 18, 2025(2025-08-18) (aged 102)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationBrainerd Institute
Alma materBarber-Scotia College
Bennett College
Occupation
  • Poet
  • playwright
  • cultural activist
  • museum curator
  • classicist
Spouse
Andrew Arthur Allen Sr.
​
​
(div. 1954)​
Children
Relatives

Vivian Elizabeth Ayers Allen (July 29, 1923 – August 18, 2025) was an American poet, playwright, cultural activist, museum curator and classicist.[1][2]

Background

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Born in 1923[3] in Chester, South Carolina,[4] she was African-American and had indigenous heritage. Her grandfather was Cherokee.[5]

She was educated at the historic Brainerd Institute in Chester, where her parents and her grandparents had also been educated,[6] growing up in a house across the street from the school.[7] Her sister Sarah Mildred Ayers Smith was valedictorian of the class of 1937,[7] whilst Allen graduated in 1939 as a member of the final graduating class from the institution.[8] Whilst at school there, she studied Latin and French[9] and learned to play concert piano.[10]

She then studied at Barber-Scotia College and Bennett College.[11] She received Honorary Doctorate degrees from Wilberforce University, in 1995,[12][13] and her alma mater Bennett College, in 2006.[12][14]

She married dentist Andrew Arthur Allen Sr. in New York City[15] and they had four children: jazz trumpet musician Andrew Arthur "Tex" Allen Jr.;[16] actress and dancer Debbie Allen;[17] regional president of TD Bank Hugh Allen;[9] and actress Phylicia Rashad.[18][19] The couple divorced in 1954 after nine years of marriage due to being "manifestly incompatible."[20] She was known as "Ma Turk" by her family, and her daughter Debbie named her own daughter Vivian Nixon after Allen.[21]

Allen attended high-profile Hollywood events with her daughters, including the unveiling of Debbie's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991 and the 65th Academy Awards in 1993.[22]

Poetry

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Allen's poetry was usually written in the form of prose paragraphs with frequent use of dashes and ellipses.[15]

Her book-length poem Hawk (1957)[1] was an allegory of freedom, personal struggle and responsibility set in space during 2052.[15][11] The poem foreshadowed the first successes in space travel,[23] published just 11 weeks before the launch of Sputnik I (the first artificial satellite sent from Earth into orbit).[24] It earned praise from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),[23] who described Allen as "a distinguished woman of Apollo, whose remarkable contributions significantly advanced our understanding of space exploration."[25] Enlarged reproductions of select lines were exhibited at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.[11] The poem was formally republished by Clemson University Press in 2023,[1] based on an exemplar of the original self-published version held in the University of Wisconsin–Madison Special Collections.[26]

In 1964, her poetry was included in Langston Hughes’ collection New Negro Poets, USA.[27][28] In 1971, she began publishing a literary magazine, The Adept Quarterly.[15]

Allen was also a playwright. She wrote "Bow Boly," about an angel who comes to earth for a mission that becomes entangled with humans,[15] and in 1973 she wrote "The Marriage Ceremony," which explored communal or "tribal" involvement in African-American marriage ceremonies.[29]

Academic

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Allen also had an academic career, becoming the librarian[3] and the first African-American faculty member at Rice University in Houston, Texas, in 1966.[30][12]

In 1973, she collaborated with the Harris County Community Association and a group of certified teachers to produce the program “Workshops in Open Fields,” which aimed to educate preschool children in the arts.[11] She also mentored young Black artists, including the filmmaker Carroll Parrott Blue.[31]

Mexico

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Allen lived in Texas for over forty years.[2] She moved with her children to Mexico for a year to give them the opportunity to have new experiences away from the "racist" American South.[10][18][32] Her children learned to speak Spanish and attended ballet performances by Mexican dancers.[2] Her daughter Debbie danced with the Ballet Nacional de México.[17][33]

In Mexico, Allen studied Greek literature, the Mayan culture,[10] and Mesoamerican Math-Astronomy.[12]

New York and ADEPT

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In 1984, Allen moved to New York, where she founded the ADEPT New American Museum of the Southwest in Mount Vernon.[5][27][34] She organized community arts projects for the local Black community,[35] supported underrepresented minority artists, and stressed the contributions of both African-Americans and Indigenous American peoples to the arts.[5]

She became friends with Jimmie Durham[36][37] and performed with him and Muhammad Ali in a production of Durham's work My Land.[38]

Later life

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In 1994, Allen was honored by the National Council of Negro Women for her "progressive thinking" and for the "positive image she projected" for Black women.[39]

Allen's daughter Phylicia purchased the 12-acre property on which the Brainerd Institute once stood in 1999.[40] Allen became the founding director of the Brainerd Institute Heritage,[9] supported by the Chester Historical Society, with the aim of both preserving the history of a school that helped shape her and commemorating the long struggle of Black Americans to provide their children with a good education.[7] Work to restore the structural integrity of Kumler Hall was completed in 2012.[41] Literacy summer programs were launched in 2017,[42][43] and free dance classes were held in partnership with the Debbie Allen Dance Academy.[6]

In 2007, Allen and her daughters received the Arts Honor from the Jack and Jill of America Foundation.[44] In 2008, Allen was awarded a Medal of Honor by Winthrop University.[45]

Her poem "On Status"[46] was performed in 2006 on HBO's Def Poetry Jam.[citation needed] It was also sampled by Solange Knowles on the song "S McGregor" from her 2019 album When I Get Home.[47][48]

Centenary and death

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Allen turned 100 in July 2023.[9][24] A 100th birthday party was held on the grounds of the Brainerd Institute, where her daughter Phylicia read Hawk with musical accompaniment from the Claflin University Choir.[49] Another celebration event was held at the Rhimes Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles,[24] with readings and performances by celebrities including Angela Bassett, Jesse Williams, Alexis Floyd, Cory Henry, and her daughter Debbie Allen, among others.[1][50] She died on August 18, 2025, at the age of 102.[51][52]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Nixon, Angela (August 21, 2023). "Clemson University Press to publish Vivian Ayers Allen's book "Hawk"". Clemson News. Archived from the original on April 18, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Barnes, Marian E. (1996). "Vivian Ayers. Mother, Poet, Author, Museum Curator". Black Texans: They Overcame. Eakin Press. ISBN 978-1-57168-055-6.
  3. ^ a b Tudtud, Christell Fatima M. (February 28, 2021). "Phylicia Rashad & Debbie Allen's Mother Is a Renowned Poet — Meet Vivian Ayers Allen". Amomama.com. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  4. ^ Coleman, Glinda Price; White, Gina Price (2000). Chester County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-7385-0649-4.
  5. ^ a b c Katz, William Loren; Franklin, Paula Angle (1993). Proudly Red and Black: Stories of African and Native Americans. Atheneum. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-689-31801-6.
  6. ^ a b Wilson, Wendy L. (October 24, 2020). "Saving Our Landmarks". Essence. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Hershenson, Roberta (May 1, 2002). "Faraway School Close to Mount Vernon Woman". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  8. ^ "About Brainerd Institute Heritage". Brainerd Institute Heritage. Archived from the original on February 9, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d "2023–2024 Bill 4504: Dr. Vivian Ayers-Allen". South Carolina Legislature Online. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Kimball, Tracy (June 17, 2018). "This 'unrelenting' Chester mom's daughters are stars. At 94, she's still helping kids". The Herald. Archived from the original on July 14, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d "Vivian Ayers Allen". South Carolina African American History Calendar. Archived from the original on January 13, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d "Vivian Ayers-Allen Inducted into Cambridge Who's Who". 24-7 Press Release Newswire. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  13. ^ "Vivian Ayers Allen". The Gantt Center. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  14. ^ Turner, Jesse (August 30, 2024). "Centenarian Belle Vivian Ayers Allen: A Hidden Figure Behind Apollo 11". Bennett College. Archived from the original on February 25, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Review of Vivian Ayers's "Hawk (and the Making of)" by Patrick T. Reardon". Another Chicago Magazine. June 25, 2024. Archived from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  16. ^ Britannica Book of the Year 2009. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. March 1, 2009. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-59339-232-1.
  17. ^ a b McCann, Bob (September 27, 2022). Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television. McFarland. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-4766-9140-4.
  18. ^ a b Lont, Cynthia M. (1995). Women and Media: Content, Careers, and Criticism. Wadsworth Publishing Company. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-534-24732-4.
  19. ^ Samwel, Emanuela (November 25, 2024). "Debbie Allen: A Comprehensive Biography of the Multifaceted Artist". Mabumbe. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  20. ^ "Texas Poet Sues Dentist Husband for Divorce". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. April 22, 1954. p. 20.
  21. ^ Nixon, Vivian. "Family Matters: Vivian Nixon". Generations United. Archived from the original on April 25, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  22. ^ Uwumarogie, Victoria (August 3, 2023). "Poet Vivian Ayers Allen, Mother To Debbie Allen And Phylicia Rashad, Just Turned 100". Essence. Archived from the original on March 24, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  23. ^ a b Jackson, Stacy (July 29, 2024). "NASA Dedicates Building To Women Of Apollo 11 Mission, Including Phylicia Rashad And Debbie Allen's Mother". Black Enterprise. Archived from the original on May 20, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  24. ^ a b c Taylor, DeAnna (May 24, 2024). "Debbie Allen Reveals Her Mother's Secret to Living 100 Years". Ebony. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  25. ^ Niani (August 13, 2024). "Vivian Ayers Allen, Phylicia Rashad And Debbie Allen's Mother, Is A NASA Hidden Figure". WBLS. Archived from the original on October 6, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  26. ^ Ayers, Vivian (November 30, 2023). Hawk. Clemson University Press. ISBN 978-1-63804-092-7.
  27. ^ a b Winegarten, Ruthe (July 22, 2010). Black Texas Women: 150 Years of Trial and Triumph. University of Texas Press. pp. 145–146. ISBN 978-0-292-78665-3.
  28. ^ Nielsen, Aldon Lynn (January 13, 1997). Black Chant: Languages of African-American Postmodernism. Cambridge University Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-521-55526-5.
  29. ^ Grider, Sylvia Ann; Rodenberger, Lou Halsell (1997). Texas Women Writers: A Tradition of Their Own. Texas A&M University Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-89096-765-2.
  30. ^ White, Cameron (February 5, 2014). Community Education for Social Justice. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 96. ISBN 978-94-6209-506-9.
  31. ^ Blue, Carroll Parrott (2003). The Dawn at My Back: A Memoir of a Black Texas Upbringing. University of Texas Press. p. 323. ISBN 978-0-292-70913-3.
  32. ^ Otfinoski, Steven (2010). African Americans in the Performing Arts. Infobase Publishing. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-4381-2855-9.
  33. ^ Hine, Darlene Clark; Brown, Elsa Barkley; Terborg-Penn, Rosalyn (1993). Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Carlson Pub. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-926019-61-4.
  34. ^ Hershenson, Roberta (April 1, 1990). "Black Women Confer on Health". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  35. ^ Simpson, Moira G. (December 6, 2012). Making Representations: Museums in the Post-Colonial Era. Routledge. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-135-63271-7.
  36. ^ Feeser, Andrea (September 24, 2020). Jimmie Durham, Europe, and the Art of Relations. Routledge. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-000-19046-5.
  37. ^ Bonami, Francesco; Obrist, Hans Ulrich (1999). Dreams. Castelvecchi. p. 33. ISBN 978-88-8210-155-8.
  38. ^ Wilmeth, Don B.; Miller, Tice L. (June 13, 1996). The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre. Cambridge University Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-521-56444-1.
  39. ^ Hershenson, Roberta (June 5, 1994). "Council to Honor a Museum Founder". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  40. ^ Hershenson, Roberta (November 24, 2002). "Honoring Her Roots". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  41. ^ "History". Brainerd Institute Heritage. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  42. ^ Emelife, Crystal. "The Reawakening of Black Academia in Chester County, South Carolina". National Trust for Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  43. ^ "Vivian Ayers' Workshops in Open Fields presents 'Literacy Through the Arts' program". The Lancaster News. June 6, 2022. Archived from the original on June 23, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  44. ^ "A Night of Giving". Jet. May 28, 2007. p. 32. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  45. ^ Winthrop University (October 7, 2008). "Medal of Honor Celebrates Contributions of Four Recipients". Winthrop News 2008.
  46. ^ Oswald, Vanessa (December 15, 2019). The Black Arts Movement: Creating a Cultural Identity. Greenhaven Publishing LLC. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-5345-6854-9.
  47. ^ Hutcherson, Lori Lakin (April 8, 2022). "GBN's Daily Drop: Poet and Pulitzer Prize Nominee Vivian Ayers Allen (LISTEN)". Good Black News. Archived from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  48. ^ Gallagher, Caitlin (March 1, 2019). "Solange's 'When I Get Home' Is An Ode To Women's History Month Thanks To Its Iconic Cameos". Bustle. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  49. ^ Brainerd Institute Heritage (August 4, 2023). Vivian Ayers' "Hawk" Recited on her 100th Birthday by Daughter Phylicia Rashad – Brainerd Chester, SC. Archived from the original on February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025 – via YouTube.
  50. ^ Ellise, Aria (July 19, 2024). "Phylicia Rashad & Debbie Allen's Mom Turns 101: "The True Renaissance Woman"". BlackDoctor.org. Archived from the original on February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 9, 2025.
  51. ^ "Debbie Allen And Phylicia Rashad's Mother, Poet Vivian Ayers Allen, Passes Away At 102". WBLS. August 21, 2025. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  52. ^ D’Zurilla, Christie (August 22, 2025). "Vivian Ayers Allen, Pulitzer-nominated poet and mother to Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad, dies at 102". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
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