The Life and Legacy of “Allen Subdivision”: An African American Community from the Early 1900S to 2015

By Deloris M. Harpool

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

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665572408

Deloris M. Harpool

Deloris Mills Massey Harpool grew up in the south-central neighborhood of Tallahassee, Florida called Allen Subdivision. She earned two degrees at Florida A&M University (FAMU) and designation of Certified Public Manager (CPM) at Rutgers University of New Jersey. This servant leader is a “Life” and “Golden” member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. For over 38 years, Deloris provided leadership in educational access/equal-opportunity programs for constituents in colleges and universities throughout Florida and New Jersey. In the same genre, she served as a consultant in the Republic of South Africa with the US Agency for International Development (USAID).  The reduction of African American-owned businesses and family dwellings in ‘Allen’ compelled the author to document the impact of this once-vibrant neighborhood. Historically, it had braved segregation, discrimination, disparities in economic opportunities, and other Jim Crow practices. Yet, it created a significantly independent economic engine and produced African Americans and descendants of remarkable success. This publication is the first of its magnitude for Harpool. She produced research-based content for local reports and for historical markers in her early home community. She offers these works with hopes that they will enlighten, entertain, uplift, and inspire readers to explore the legacy of ‘Allen’ and other African American communities for the incredible value they add to the American landscape.

Book preview

© 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%20Washington%20Receiving%20Award.jpg

Lavern Washington receives 2015 reunion award for leadership/dedication

to Allen Subdivision. Image courtesy of Earl Washington.

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.

Essential as a backdrop to the Allen story, Jim Crow practices and laws collectively required the separation of citizens by race in the use of public facilities. During the early stages of development for the Allen community, these inhibitors dominated nearly all aspects of life for African Americans in Tallahassee and throughout the South. From the late 1800s, for at least seventy-five years, Blacks were not allowed to attend the same schools, theaters, or restaurants or sit at the same lunch counters and soda fountains as their White counterparts. Nor were they allowed to use the same hotels, swimming pools, parks, libraries, restrooms, or water fountains as Whites.

African Americans were required to sit in the rear section on buses and trains, separate from Whites. In the South, they were subjected to literacy tests, poll taxes in state and local elections, and other difficulties as they attempted voter registration. They also were denied equal access and equal opportunity in business and employment. In addition to wrongful and cruel treatment in the criminal justice system, Blacks were subjected to violence and attack by groups like the Ku Klux Klan if they violated the laws. In many cases, without any violation or just cause, Blacks were persecuted by White vigilante groups that often reigned without accountability or punishment.

Weathering the storm of discrimination, segregation, and economic challenges of the early 1900s and beyond was a noteworthy feat for early Allen residents. Before and after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which banned Jim Crow practices and expanded opportunities for African Americans, this community demonstrated tremendous resilience. Among the hallmarks of the residents of the community were their love for one another, their resolve to stick together, and their determination to ensure access to products and services within the local neighborhood and to ensure a brighter future for their children. The vibrancy of this treasured community was evidenced in its bustling businesses, spiritual beliefs and churches, enablement of folk ways, day-to-day activities, value of education, and interface with the neighboring Florida A&M University. With remarkable fortitude, this community made a sizable impact on the city’s economy and on the production of contributing citizens in Tallahassee, the State of Florida, the United States, and abroad.

To ensure that city and county officials and others are aware of the significance of this cherished neighborhood is of grave import to Allen residents. This work promises to achieve that goal, in part. It illuminates details previously unknown yet valuable to the city, the state, and the greater American society, toward the preservation of the neighborhood’s history. The material presented here is based upon multiple sources, including legal documents from the City of Tallahassee, official records filed at the Leon County Courthouse, and relevant literature. Records reviewed include property deeds, building permits, and city directories. Among other facts, this rendering takes a deep dive into Allen’s lifestyle, early physical environment and living conditions, the initial owners of the developed tracts of land, the architectural descriptions of dwellings in the community, subsequent private homeowners, and documentation of the robust presence of African American–owned businesses.

The lack of specific dates in this document for certain events that occurred in the neighborhood is acknowledged as a limitation. However, there is significant concurrence and corroboration in the direct life experiences reported by over ninety informants. In addition to available documents reviewed, the accounts of individual informants were captured through written surveys, recorded oral histories, face-to-face conversations, telephone interviews, and the author’s personal memoirs. Hopefully, this publication will enlighten, uplift, educate, and entertain readers while awakening treasured memories for Allen residents and individuals who grew up in similar communities.

1

Early Conditions: From Foot-Trodden

Paths to Paved Streets

In the early 1900s, before housing projects were fully developed, the landscape of the community historically known as Allen Subdivision featured open fields, hilly terrain, paths, and cow pastures. A wide variety of trees and vegetation added natural form, shade, and beauty, which would later become household perks in the area.

By 1944, foot-trodden routes, interlacing through the core of area fields, gave way to unpaved roads. Expanded housing developments brought a human element to the territory. For individuals who settled in the neighborhood, daily struggles to survive would ultimately forge close relationships among them, and they would bond with others who endured common conditions across the separately developed tracts of land in the vicinity.

Early residents of the community described conditions as