Allen, Ethel D., 1929-1981

Ethel D. Allen once described herself as, "BFR—a black female Republican, an entity as rare as a black elephant and just as smart." In her career she challenged sexism and racism, and was devoted to the disadvantaged in her community as both a health care provider and a politician.

One of three children, Allen was born in 1929, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she lived and worked for most of her life. Her father, Sidney S. Allen, Sr. was a self-employed tailor, and her mother, known only as Mrs. Sidney S. Allen, was the only one of Allen's parents to graduate from high school. As a single parent she took on the legal guardianship of a child called Kathy Ann, whose parents had died shortly after her birth.

Allen's early education was at the predominantly white John W. Haliahan Girls Catholic High School, and then at all-black West Virginia State College, where she majored in chemistry and biology with a minor in mathematics. Fascinated by politics from an early age, she ran for student council president in high school, and for council president in her senior year at West Virginia, losing by only two votes (one of which was her own).

In the late 1950s, barriers to medical education were almost insurmountable for black women, and Allen spent seven years applying to medical schools before being accepted, finally, at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), where around fifty African Americans earned their Doctor of Osteopathy degree between 1949 and 1978. The yearbook photographs of 1963 aptly illustrate the prevailing climate even in this gradually integrated school. Allen was the only African American and the only woman in the PCOM Obstetrics-Gynecology Society, and the only African American, and one of only two women in the Internal Medicine Society. Other students told her she should not be at medical school because she was depriving a man of that education and the chance to become a doctor.

In the course of her career, Dr. Allen did not forget the early problems she faced in medical school. She went on to found the Community Committee on Medical School Admissions, which worked to increase the admission rates of black men and women applying to medical school. She also served as a mentor to PCOM students.

In 1964, after earning her degree and completing an internship at Grand Rapids Osteopathic Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Allen began practicing at Fifteenth Street and Columbia Avenue, in Philadelphia. Her work was truly community medicine, and took her out into the streets of some of the poorest local neighborhoods.

As a self-described "ghetto practitioner," working in difficult and often dangerous circumstances, she began carrying a gun on house calls. At one point, she was lured to a false house call and found herself the target of a robbery. Four men had surrounded her, hoping to get drugs from her medical bag, but she escaped safely after wielding her gun and sending them running.

Over the next ten years, Allen was elected to an at-large seat on the Philadelphia City Council (1975), gave a seconding speech for President Gerald Ford at the Republican national convention, and was made Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In 1975 Esquire Magazine listed her as one of the nation's twelve outstanding women politicians.

Ethel D. Allen (May 8, 1929 – December 16, 1981)[1] was an African-American politician and physician from the Republican Party, who served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under governor Dick Thornburgh for 10 months, between January and October 1979. Prior to serving in the state cabinet, Allen was a member of the Philadelphia City Council from 1972 until 1979, representing both the 5th and At-Large Districts. Allen was born in Philadelphia She studied at West Virginia State College, where she majored in chemistry and biology with a minor in mathematics, and went on to earn her Doctor of Osteopathy from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1963.[3] While her parents were active in local Democratic politics, Allen eventually became a Republican volunteer, working for a variety of campaigns, including that of Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. She would jokingly describe herself as a "B.F.R. – a black, female Republican, an entity as rare as a black elephant and just as smart."[4] Allen decided that the best way for her to combat the crime she saw as a practicing physician was to become more involved in politics. In 1971, she ran for Philadelphia City Council. That year, buoyed by a series of strong debate performances, she unseated incumbent Democratic Councilman Thomas McIntosh in the Fifth District. With her election, she became the first African-American woman to serve on city council.[5] During her tenure, Allen sponsored legislation that resulted in the creation of the Philadelphia Youth Commission to help address issues with urban gangs.[6]

In 1975, Allen decided to seek re-election to Council, but this time ran for one of Council's at-large seats. She won one of the two seats reserved for nonmembers of the majority Democratic Party, taking over the seat vacated by Tom Foglietta, who was the party's nominee for Mayor in that year's election. While on Council, Allen was known as a tough, outspoken politician, often clashing with Mayor Frank Rizzo and Council President George Schwartz.[5] As her local profile rose, so too did her national presence rise. At the 1976 Republican National Convention, Allen gave the seconding speech in support of President Gerald Ford's nomination.[3]

State Secretary
In January 1979, incoming Governor Dick Thornburgh named Allen his choice for Secretary of the Commonwealth.[7] Allen had reportedly told city Republican leaders that she would turn-down Thornburgh's offer if they assured her that she would have an unobstructed path to the party's nomination for that year's Mayoral election; when she did not receive such assurances, she accepted Thornburgh's offer.[5]

In October of that year, Thornburgh's cabinet was rocked by several resignations. Two officials–the Secretary of Health and the Secretary of Labor–had resigned due to discomfort in government and an inability to work effectively with their colleagues. As a result of the increased scrutiny put on his cabinet, Thornburgh met with Allen to discuss allegations of absenteeism and impropriety that had been made against her. Allen was reportedly absent from her Harrisburg office for more than half of a 40-day period earlier that year, and had allegedly received honorariums for speeches that had been prepared by state employees. For her part, Allen asserted that her absences were necessary to effectively carry-out her duties, and that she had only used a state worker to merely help write two speeches for which she had earned a total of $1,000. These speeches, she asserted, represented only a small percentage of the number of speeches she had given since taking office.[5] Thornburgh, however asked Allen resign, and when she refused to do so, he fired her.[8] Two years earlier, Governor Milton Shapp had fired C. Delores Tucker, who was also serving as Secretary of the Commonwealth, for using public employees to assist in the preparation of speeches for which a fee was received.[9]

Later life and legacy
Allen's firing brought a significant backlash against Thornburgh from the African-American community and various civil rights groups. Some asserted that Allen was held to a different standard because of her skin color, gender, or both; others charged that the Governor's actions were politically motivated.[10]

Her dismissal from Thornburgh's cabinet brought an end to her political career. She would serve for just over one year as the Philadelphia School District's clinician with management responsibilities.[10]

In December 1981, she died due to complications from double-bypass heart surgery.[11][5] While Allen never married and had no children,[5] her legacy as trailblazer survived her. She often encouraged African-Americans and women to seek political office; indeed, her friend Augusta Clark would later become the second African-American woman to serve on Philadelphia City Council, eventually becoming the Democratic Majority Whip.[10][12][13] In 1982, the School District of Philadelphia changed the name of the then Lehigh Elementary School to the Dr. Ethel D. Allen School, in honor of Dr. Allen.[14]