Vivian Ayers Allen, sympathy

2025-2026 Bill 4897: Vivian Ayers Allen, sympathy - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 4897
STATUS INFORMATION
House Resolution
Sponsors: Rep. McDaniel
Document Path: LC-0486WAB-RM26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 14, 2026
Adopted by the House on January 14, 2026
Summary: Vivian Ayers Allen, sympathy
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

1/14/2026

House

Introduced and adopted (
House Journal-page 77
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
01/14/2026

A
house
RESOLUTION

TO EXPRESS the PROFOUND SORROW of the south carolina
house of representatives UPON THE PASSING OF CHESTER NATIVE VIVIAN AYERS ALLEN,
TO CELEBRATE HER LIFE, AND TO EXTEND THE DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HER FAMILY AND
MANY FRIENDS.

W
hereas, the South
Carolina House of Representatives was deeply saddened to learn of the passing
of Vivian Ayers Allen on August 18, 2025, at the venerable age of one hundred
two. A native of Chester, she was a poet and cultural activist for over sixty
years and also earned renown as a playwright, museum curator, and classicist;
and

W
hereas, born July 29,
1923, Dr. Ayers Allen spent nearly two decades serving as the founding director
of the Brainerd Institute Heritage in her hometown of Chester. The Brainerd
Institute, formed in 1866 as an elite educational institution for newly liberated
African slaves by the Presbyterian USA Church, eventually offered all grades
through high school. Dr. Ayers Allen was the youngest member of the school's
last graduating class in 1939. The site is currently home to Workshops in Open
Fields, a program she originally started in Houston, Texas, created to foster
and promote preschool literacy; and

W
hereas, her literary
career began in Houston, Texas, in 1952 with the publication of
Spice of
Dawns
, a collection of poems that was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Hawk
,
an allegory of freedom made analogous to space flight, followed and was
published in 1957, just before the launch of Sputnik 1, the first artificial
satellite sent from Earth into orbit.
Hawk
would later earn praise from
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at their Lyndon B.
Johnson Space Center, where enlarged reproductions of the writings are
exhibited; and

W
hereas, Dr. Ayers
Allen's talents and interests also included the research of world cultures. She
studied Latin and French at the Brainerd Institute and classical Greek at Rice
University, Columbia University, and Princeton University. In addition, she studied
and translated texts on Mayan culture and astronomy. Her thirst for knowledge
and her subsequent accomplishments earned her honorary doctorates from Bennett
College and Wilberforce University; and

W
hereas, Dr. Ayers
Allen dedicated her ongoing life accomplishments to her immediate family, from
whom she always received support and encouragement. She was the mother of four
talented children: musician "Tex" Allen; choreographer, actress, and Grey's Anatomy
executive director/producer Debbie Allen; Tony Award-winning actress Phylicia
Rashad; and TD Bank regional president Hugh Allen; and

W
hereas, in honor of
Dr. Ayers Allen's one hundredth birthday in 2023, Clemson University
republished her epic NASA-celebrated poem,
Hawk
; and

W
hereas, U.S.
Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina shared this apt praise of Vivian
Ayers Allen at her passing: "The nation has lost a giant among its cultural
warriors. Dr. Allen was an outstanding artist in her own right and a proud
daughter of South Carolina. Her art is her legacy, and will continue to inspire
for generations." Now, therefore,

B
e it resolved by the
House of Representatives
:

T
hat the members of the
South Carolina
House of Representatives
,
by this resolution, express profound sorrow upon the passing of Chester native Vivian
Ayers Allen, celebrate her life, and extend the deepest sympathy to her family
and many friends.

B
e it further resolved
that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on January 14, 2026 at 4:11 PM