“She is known for her life-long friendships, her love of arts and crafts including sewing, knitting, crocheting, drawing and painting, and her love of books and reading. She was an enduring student of all things Black History and Brown v. Board of Education. Her infectious laughter, sense of humor, enthusiasm, selflessness, and generosity will be missed by all who knew and loved her.”
— Edwilda Allen’s Obituary

Edwilda’s Dreams highlights and honors the art and life of Edwilda Allen.

A lifelong advocate of civil rights and education, Edwilda Allen devoted 35 years of her life to teaching, with the last 13 years of her career as a music teacher to our community’s children. At an early age Allen participated in a 1951 student led walk out at R.R. Moton. This act to demand better schools would become part of United States Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, a case that would ultimately declare state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional.

The pieces on view represent the many threads that form the tapestry of her life gardens, school, race, motherhood, and history. At its center is an irreplaceable artist who wove them together into a legacy with profound generational impact throughout both our community and the U.S. Edwilda Allen passed away on 21 January 2022.

This exhibition is made possible in part by Dr. Larissa M. Smith and Dr. John D. Miller.