#1: She valued “making something out of nothing.”
Growing up in South Carolina, Vivian Ayers Allen attended the elite Brainerd Institute high school, established in 1866 for the children of freed slaves. Her place of education reminded her regularly of how our ancestors made so many amazing things out of nothing, a trait she would pass down to her children.
#2: She advocated for her children.
When her daughter Debbie Allen was denied admittance to dance schools, Ayers wasted no time taking the handrail from the staircase and screwing it into the wall of the family’s dining room. Allen received private lessons in their home ballet studio and became a phenomenal dancer, eventually earning a spot in the Houston Ballet Foundation.
#3: She was a poetic “hidden figure.”
Ayers was a typist and mathematician for NASA and a “Hidden Figure.” But in her numbers lived poetry. In 1957, weeks before the launch of Sputnik 1, Ayers published a long-form poetry book called “Hawk.” Written from the perspective of a hawk defying gravity and venturing into space, the poem is a metaphor for transcendence and racial freedom. “Hawk” is on display at NASA, and artists like Solange Knowles have sampled her poetry.
#4: She planted the seed for grassroots organizations.
In 1973, Ayers co-created her signature program, “Workshops in Open Fields.” The program laid the foundation for grassroots arts programming across the United States.
#5: She knew the secret to aging gracefully.
Ayers' secret to living to the venerable age of 102? Community, remaining positive even through challenges, expressing gratitude, and keeping her mind and imagination active. Transcending so she can fly.