W. George Allen’s trailblazing legacy as a champion of civil rights and education is adding an exciting new chapter at the Community Foundation of Broward.

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Allen, who died in November 2019 , is a civil rights icon in Florida. In 1962 he became the first African American to graduate with a law degree from the University of Florida. And during his 50-year legal career, Allen led the lawsuits that resulted in desegregating public schools in Broward County and Hendry County.

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In September, Jonathan and Tim Allen followed their late father’s wishes with a $200,000 gift to the Community Foundation. The gift created two scholarship Funds – one named for George and the other named for his wife, Enid.

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Now amid a renewed national outcry for social justice, the Allen Legacy Fund’s gift creates two scholarship Funds that will empower a new generation of students to make the most of their educational opportunities – opportunities that W. George Allen’s pioneering efforts helped make possible.

• The W. George Allen Scholarship Fund will provide annual scholarships to African-American high school graduates from Broward and from the Crooms Academy high school in Sanford, Fla. – where Allen was born – to obtain a degree from a Florida College/University, with preference given to students attending Florida A&M University.
• The Enid Meadows Allen Nursing Scholarship Fund is for African-American high school graduates to earn a four-year nursing degree at a Florida College/University, with preference given to students attending Florida A&M University.

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Tim and Jonathan Allen said they hope that creating these two endowed scholarships, amid the Community Foundation’s BE BOLD Leadership Campaign, will inspire others to step up and establish similar help for local students.

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W. George Allen’s legacy of stepping up for Broward includes his past service as a Community Foundation of Broward Board member.

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Now, through these new endowed scholarship Funds, work in the Allen name to break down barriers for Broward students will never end.

To learn more about creating a scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation of Broward, email info@cfbroward.org or call 954-761-9503.

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