Top 10 Facts about Ethel Allen

American Flag by Luisa Frassier/Unsplash

Top 10 Facts about Ethel Allen

Ethel Allen was the first African American woman on the Philadelphia City Council. At the age of five years, Ellen had an interest in medicine, she sustained a back injury in her early adulthood and this motivated her to focus on Osteopathy. Ethel was known as a clever, street-smart representative when she was a republican council member. As a doctor she was gentle, and caring to the Philadelphia community she practiced her Osteopath in the poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Allen worked to sponsor legislations to combat crime, and urban gangs as the councilwoman, Esquire magazine named her as the twelve most outstanding female politicians.

Allen was not a councilwoman only she also supported the gay community and this made most community members hate her. She was private about her sexuality and relationship, but finally, she openly admitted that she is a lesbian, and she was actively involved in supporting gay pride week. It was not easy for Allen as a doctor she faced discrimination as an African American woman, most medical schools made her admission nearly impossible. Allen died of an open-heart surgery complication in 1981.

1. Allen was intrigued by science and politics

Science by Ousa Chea/Unsplash

Allen found herself captivated by science and politics and this inspired her adulthood, from the time she was five years she wanted to be a doctor her uncle was a dentist and this motivated her to be more interested in the scientific field. She was curious every time she wanted to understand how things work, to make sense of the universe as a black child who grew up in North Philadelphia. Allen was born in 1929 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania with two siblings.

Interested in politics and science she ran for student council president in high school, facing racism and barriers pursuing her medical education as a black woman she spent seven years applying to medical schools. Finally, Allen was accepted at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, after earning her degree and completing an internship at Grand Rapids Osteopathic Hospital in Grand Rapids. She loved community medicine which took her out into the streets of some of the poorest local neighborhoods.

2. In her political career she wanted to combat crime

Politics by Aditya Joshi/Unsplash

Crime is everywhere and the government works so hard to battle crime, well Allen wanted to combat crime in Philadelphia and this made her run for city council and become the first black woman to serve in the city council in 1972. While in office she created the Philadelphia youth commission and addressed the Urban gang issues. During her time as a councilwoman esquire magazine named her as one of the twelve most outstanding female politicians in the United States.

Ethel described herself as a BFR a black female Republican a rare entity and a rare black elephant just as smart. Allen delivered a speech at the Republican National convention in support of Gerald Ford’s Presidential nomination in 1976. In 1979 she was appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which made her the highest ranking African American woman in the State.

3. Dr. Ethel Allen as an Osteopathy

Hospital by Hush Naidoo/Unsplash

Inspired at five years to be a politician and doctor, Dr. Allen attended the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic medicine. When she was young, she would go with her father to the doctor’s office a German doctor who had jars of rats and frogs. Allen was curious at a young age and wanted to know how the universe works, a back injury she sustained in early adulthood influenced her interest in osteopathy. She was the only woman and the second African American in the internal medicine society and the sole woman in the Obstetrics Gynecology society. It was not easy for Allen to get into medical school she faced barriers in seven years.

In her college years Allen juggled her studies as well as fighting racism and sexism, after receiving her degree and completing her internship she began her work in community medicine, although she had an office Allen saw her patients in the street, she referred to herself as the “ghetto practitioner”. It was not easy for her to serve in the streets making sure that poor patients got the right medical care, one time as she was answering a house call to examine a woman, she found herself trapped. Four men entered the room to rob her they wanted drugs instead of getting drugs, Allen made them undress and ordered them out of the streets naked as she made her getaway. She carried a gun for protection when answering house calls.

4. Ethel. D Allen a Lesbian

Today across the world people celebrate the Stonewall Uprising, the first gay pride match held in 1970 in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. As the first black woman to be chosen for the Philadelphia City Council, she was not afraid to make her stand supporting gay pride. She successfully requested the governor to issue a proclamation to support gay pride week.  Allen was open to her friends about her sexuality of been a lesbian. Ethel did not have any children at all and died a single lady.

5. Ethel was single and lived with her parents

Allen was single and lived at home with her parents in the house she grew up in, she was known as a woman of boundless energy. She remained unmarried most of her life and never gave birth to any children. Though she acted as a legal guardian to a child named Kathy Ann whose parents died after birth. Dr. Ethel spend most of her time making speeches, talking to church groups and students, and making sure she attended community and civic association meetings. Her dismissal from Thornburgh’s cabinet brought an end to her political career, she served as a clinician at the Philadelphia School District.

6. She was known for her famous speeches

Speech by Jackson Schaal/Unsplash

Dr. Ethel Allen was known for her famous speeches that got her into trouble, and Gov Dick Thornburgh who appointed her criticized her for using her office staff to prepare speeches. In 1976 Allen delivered a seconding speech for President Gerald Ford at the GOP national convention. She was made secretary of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. When politician Dick Thornburgh sacked her from his cabinet, Allen received a lot of support from the civil rights organization.

In 1976 her reelection made her the first African-American member to hold an at-large seat. After her political life, she was nominated as a candidate for the second Congressional District seat but she turned it down. Allen was absent from her Harrisburg office duties by preparing speeches and this upset a few politicians.

7. Allen’s Hobbies

Books by Seongho Jang/Unsplash

We all have hobbies and things we love to do during our free time either by ourselves or with friends, well Dr. Allen is not different at all. Allen loved reading political novels she once said “everything I can get my hands on about Richard Nixon”, she was also a fan of mysteries and detective stories. Other hobbies include photography, cooking, art, music, clothes, and Soap operas. Allen was known for not biting her tongue and she would say what was on her mind. At a City Council meeting, she spoke out against Mayor Frank L Rizzo’s position on a Puerto Rican housing project, warning him.

8. Dr. Ethel Allen Elementary school

Today there is an elementary school named after the famous Dr. Ethel Allen it is located at Lehigh Avenue in Strawberry Mansion. The history of Dr. Ethel Allen Elementary School is rich. The school has 630 students, the school was part of the Philadelphia school district’s turnaround network plan in 2016. Before the elementary school was established the property across the street from Mt Vernon Cemetery was also a cemetery itself the German Lutheran Cemetery. The school enrolls 99% economically disadvantaged students. The school offers great attention not only to disabled children but all children, the teachers are said to be great and are caring towards all the children.

9. Dr. Allen was a role model to the black community

During her political career, Allen received widespread national media attention, around the country. She become a role model to black young men and women, and she was considered the nation’s most influential and powerful black politician. After her appointment as the commonwealth secretary one of her close friends recreated the first moon landing with Allen’s smiling face on a figure wearing a space suit and holding an American flag. The caption on the picture read “One giant leap for womankind”. Allen hung the fantastic piece of art in her office to remind her she was one of a kind.

10. Her death

In October at the Hahnemann Hospital, Sr. Allen was admitted and underwent a bypass heart surgery. She died at the age of 52. The Philadelphia editorial summed up Allen’s life “When Dr. Allen tackled a problem, she did it with enthusiasm and vigor and it inspired others to join the endeavor”. She will forever be remembered as a fierce woman who did not let racism and sexism stop her from going the extra mile. After her death her friend Augusta Clark later become the second African-American woman to serve on Philadelphia City Council, eventually becoming the Democratic Majority Whip.