The Life and Legacy of “Allen Subdivision”

Deloris M. Harpool

Description

The Life and Legacy of Allen Subdivision describes an African American community from its inception, where over ninety bustling African American-owned businesses emerged. Beginning in the early 1900s, in spite of segregation, discrimination, disparities in economic opportunities, and other Jim Crow practices, this little-known community in Tallahassee, Florida, thrived and produced African Americans and descendants of remarkable success. Through personal accounts of residents, oral history of neighborhood elders and official historical records, the author illuminates alluring messages about the value of this modest neighborhood in the American landscape. 

Inspired by 2008 city and county plans for urban redevelopment, including commemorative markers in the south central section of Tallahassee, this work is rare. With the launching of the civic project, it became evident that no deep-dive review of the cherished ‘Allen’ neighborhood had ever been published or made available to policy makers and civic planners. The untold, rich legacy of the once significantly independent community and its effect on its sons and daughters and their descendants required action. Deloris M. Harpool, who grew up in the humble neighborhood, accepted the challenge to document the unique character and consequential effects of her treasured home place.

The book is enriched with a fascinating blend of humorous and yet sobering reported experiences reminiscent of life in ‘Allen.’ It presents early developers and environmental conditions, superstitions, myths and traditions that existed as a part of the neighborhood experience. It reveals medical home remedies, home-grown foods, ‘make do’ meals, meatless sandwiches, make-shift toys and games, favorite sweet treats, jokes, nicknames, coping strategies, fun experiences, and other aspects of life common to many individuals raised in African American communities.

This rendering emphasizes the significance of the role of neighborhood churches, Black-owned businesses and an informal, yet integral relationship with Florida A&M University. It describes loyalty and loving relations among residents, collective discipline and protection of children, and sage advice of the elders in meeting social and economic challenges. It further describes the community’s little-known involvement in the civil rights movement and the achievement of ‘Allen’ residents. As a bonus, this depiction offers a roadmap for acceptance of ethic experiences and contributions in civic planning.

Discover how an iron-clad, close-knit village enabled individual members to achieve lasting success and the lessons we can learn from its legacy and social determinants of success.

“The author… takes me down an entertaining and amusing memory lane...She reminds me of how blessed I am to have grown up in a similar community. This work speaks to the important role such a community played in the development of resilient, productive and contributing African American citizens.”

—Barbara R. Cotton, D.A., history professor emeritus, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida

“In this book, Harpool illustrates that it truly took a village, including once thriving neighborhood businesses, to produce the fine caliber of African American leaders of today. This type of history is lost in many communities. Her work documents a great legacy and preserves history for future generations.”

—Dianne Williams-Cox, commissioner, City of Tallahassee, Florida

Sujets

• Histoire
• African-American history
• African American
• History
• Black

Informations

• Publié par: AuthorHouse
• Date de parution: 18 novembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665572408
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF “Allen Subdivision”
 
 

An African American Community from the Early 1900s to 2015

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DELORIS M. HARPOOL
 
 
 
 

 
AuthorHouse™
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.authorhouse.com
Phone: [phone]
 
 
 
 
 
 
© 2022 Deloris M. Harpool. All rights reserved.
 
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
 
Published by AuthorHouse  11/08/2022
 
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7241-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6655-7240-8 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022918181
 
 
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
CONTENTS
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction
Allen Subdivision
Chapter 1       Early Conditions: From Foot-Trodden Paths to Paved Streets
How the Community Got Its Assumed Name
The Land Developers and Their Official Subdivisions
Family Dwellings
Chapter 2       Homeowners by 1960
Chapter 3       Life in The Community
It Takes a Village
Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child
Parents at Work
Parents at Their Leisure
Children at Work
Children at Play
From Neighborhood Players to Distinguished Athletes
Makeshift Toys and Games
Jokes and Nicknames
Mail-Order and Hand-Me-Down Clothes, Cardboard Soles, and Makeshift Closets
Home Remedies
Superstitions and Myths
Homegrown Foods
“Yard Bird” on the Chopping Block
“Kool” Drinks, Meatless Sandwiches, and “Make-Do” Meals
Textured Hair, Burned Scalps, and Charred Upper Ears
Early Bathing, Heating, Cooling, and Laundering
One House, One Phone, One Party Line
Early Transportation: We Walked a Lot!
Chapter 4       Bustling Black-Owned Business Community
Chapter 5       Education: From Limited to Open Access
Chapter 6       Our Help in Ages Past: The Churches in Allen
Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church
St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church
Chapter 7       Integral Relationship with Florida A&M University
Chapter 8       Involvement in the Civil Rights Movement
Chapter 9       Nostalgic Sounds of Allen
Chapter 10     A Fading Family Residential Community
Chapter 11     Successes of Early Sons and Daughters of Allen
Chapter 12     In Spite of the Odds: Generations Excelled and Propelled
Accounting
Administrative and Executive Secretarial Services
Art
Athletics/Sports
Business Ownership
Chemistry
Clergy and Religion
Community/Neighborhood Leadership
Construction/General Contracting
Education
Educational Leadership and Supervision
Family and Consumer Sciences
Fire Science and Service
Food Service Management and Support
International, National, and Regional Consulting
Journalism and Mass Communications
Law
Law Enforcement and Corrections
Local, State, Regional, and National Church Leadership
Medicine
Military Service
Nursing and Health Education
Psychology
Public Service
Chapter 13     Allen: An Incubator and Pathway to Success
APPENDIX
Key Influences, Players and Outcomes in the Development and Communication of the Allen Subdivision Story
Call to Action
The Elders Have Spoken
Documentation of the Allen Experience
The 2015 Reunion: Igniting Memories/Affirming a Legacy
Civic Engagement and Collaboration
Tangible Outcomes
References
Acknowledgments
About The Author
DEDICATION
This narrative is dedicated to the highly esteemed Village Builders—the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, senior neighbors, older siblings, friends, and mentors of the community in Tallahassee, Florida, called Allen Subdivision. Although some of the Builders have made their spiritual transitions, the community remembers and honors them, as well as other Allen Subdivision Super Significant Seniors noted on pages 50 through 57. These seniors and their parents, in some cases, provided the loving, safe, Christian-based and encouraging environment necessary for a thriving, close-knit community. While facing incredible odds, they made it possible for the collective Allen family to maintain happiness, joy, peace, and hope for a future marked with strong men and women of noteworthy success in life. While providing for basic needs—food, shelter, and clothing—they led by example, teaching important lessons for endurance in the face of tremendous adversity. Allen is eternally grateful for the caring hearts, sacrifices, and influence of our Village Builders.

Lavern Washington receives 2015 reunion award for leadership/dedicat ion to Allen Subdivision. Image courtesy of Earl Washin gton.
Second, this document is dedicated to Mr. Lavern A. Washington, whose love for Allen Subdivision is unparalleled. He has been the core figure keeping the Allen Subdivision family together and its legacy alive. His loyalty to and love for the community have been evident via the sweat of his brow, the generous financial resources he has provided, and his sustained efforts to continue Allen Subdivision reunions as a way to keep the Allen family connected. It is with immense pleasure and appreciation that this author also dedicates this officially codified Allen story to the indisputable Allen champion, Lavern A. Washington.
FOREWORD
I am honored to have been asked to provide the foreword for this outstanding labor of love, which documents one of the founding communities in the City of Tallahassee.
For over eighty-five years, this small, historically African American neighborhood has been referred to by its residents as Allen Subdivision. It is little known to many residents outside of its boundaries, including city and county officials, like myself. Thanks to the work of a native daughter, Mrs. Deloris M. Harpool, this history has been researched, and many of us are learning that, at one time, this community was a flourishing, robust, significantly independent community of over two hundred close-knit families and over ninety bustling African American–owned businesses.
Mrs. Harpool provides great definition of the size and boundaries of Allen Subdivision to help us visualize where the events occurred. She takes the time to describe life for the adults and, most importantly, the children. She shares that it truly took a village to produce the fine caliber of citizens who emerged from Allen to be great leaders of today in their own right. Among the citizens described is the late honorable congresswoman Carrie Pittman Meek, who lived in this cherished community.
In the name of progress, this type of history is lost in many communities. I encourage each of us to follow her example and dig up, document, and educate others on the great legacy that has been passed on to us. We owe this and the preservation of our history to our future generations. Additional beneficiaries include the overarching city, state, and nation to which African Americans have added significant contributions and flavor.
Thank you, Deloris, for this great work, and I hope that more of us will catch this bug and get busy documenting our great legacy.
Dianne Williams-Cox
Commissioner
(Former Mayor Pro Tem
November 2020)
INTRODUCTION
My story is a freedom song from within my soul. It is a guide to discovery, a vision of how even the worst pain and heartaches can be channeled into human monuments, impenetrable and everlasting.
— Coretta Scott King
Allen Subdivision
The impact of urban redevelopment on African American communities has generated increased interest across the United States. The process raises concerns related to displacement of individuals from their initially affordable homes and long-term neighbors. It also involves the loss of businesses and economic power in the communities being affected by urban planning. Unfortunately, the process eradicates or significantly removes remnants of lives that have added flavor to the broader community. Without efforts to capture the essence of their homeplaces, African Americans lose volumes of rich history and heritage. Such losses deprive a people, their offspring, and future generations of the knowledge of their full identity, culture, heritage, and collective and individual worth. These losses also tragically affect the entire, composite society.
The purpose of this document is to codify information about the African American community in Tallahassee, Florida, known by its residents as Allen Subdivision. Also known as Allen, this little-known site has existed for over ninety years in the south-central segment of the city. Prior to redevelopment in this neighborhood, starting with the 1986 erection of the M. S. Thomas Bridge and 2014 changes on Canal Street (FAMU Way), there had been no known comprehensive, written account of the community. In spite of racial discrimination and accompanying economic barriers, this community found a way to survive, eventually becoming a thriving community full of life, love, and highly supported enterprises. Its story and its beauty are worthy of review and historical preservation.