Page 46
April 2007
The AC Phoenix
Former Legislator
Bernard Allen Inducted
into NCAE Hall of Fame
Greensboro, NC - Former NC Legislator Rep. Bernard Allen has been
inducted into the NCAE Educational Hall of Fame. Allen, the only
inductee this year, was a former staff member of the North Carolina
Teachers Association and the North Carolina Association of Educators
(NCAE). At NCAE, he served as a field staff representative and later
worked as an Association lobbyist in the Government Relations
Department.
His induction was officially announced at the annual NCAE Awards
Banquet held Thursday, March 22, at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel,
where his widow, Vivian Allen, accepted the award. She was accompa
nied by sons, Bernard Allen, II and Andre Allen.
The Awards Banquet was held in conjunction with the NCAE State
Convention which ran Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24 at the
Greensboro Coliseum.
The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) is the state's
largest education association, representing 65,000 active, retired and
student members.
BERNARD ALLEN SR.
Bernard Alien Sr. was born to James Allen Sr. and Louise Hoover on
August 24, 1937. He was raised by his grandmother in Allendale, South
Carolina. Following his graduation from high school, he attended and
completed two years of study at Voorhees Junior College in Denmark,
South Carolina. His family moved north to New York and New Jersey,
and later settled in Raleigh, North Carolina where Bernard continued his
education at St. Augustine's College. He graduated in 1962, earning a
Bachelor of Arts degree in secondary education.
Following his graduation he served as a classroom teacher in the
Vance County Schools. It was in Henderson that he met and married
Vivian Sneed. They had two sons, Bernard Jr. and Andre. Mr. Allen
attended North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina
and in 1979, earned a Master of Science degree in public administration
and supervision. He then went on to serve as assistant superintendent
in Vance County
Mr. Allen later worked for the North Carolina Teachers Association,
advocating for African-American educators across North Carolina. When
the North Carolina Education Association and the North Carolina
Teachers Association joined to form the North Carolina Association of
Educators, he became a lobbyist for the newly merged association. He
spent twenty-five years advocating for better salaries and working condi
tions for public educators.
In 2002, Bernard Allen successfully ran for the House seat that had
been vacated by Dan Blue and went on to serve two terms as the repre
sentative of southeast, downtown Raleigh, and some of the surrounding
suburban area of Wake County. Representative Allen was the primary
sponsor of over twenty-five bills; nine of which had a direct impact on
public education and its employees, supporting pay raises for education
employees, retired teachers returning to work, and one bill pertaining to
students with disabilities. He was one of four sponsors of the bill to cre
ate a state education lottery and later advocated tor a nine-member over
sight committee to ensure lottery profits are used for education. He was
unopposed and reelected to his seat in 2004, and at his death was seek
ing reelection for a third term.
During his tenure in the General Assembly, Representative Allen
served on several committees, including State Personnel; Pensions and
Retirement; Finance, Select Committee on the Lottery, Select Committee
on the North Carolina State Employees Disability; and the Full
Appropriations Committee that passed a budget to'protect public educa
tion and provide aid to private colleges and universities in North Carolina.
Representative Allen served as chairman of the North Carolina
Central University's Board of Trustees for two years. He also served on
the Board of Trustees for Saint Augustine's College and was elected as
national representative by the national alumni membership. He was a
member of the National Education Association's Task Force on the
Dismissal of Black Educators in the South and a lifetime member of the
NAACP. Representative Allen was also a member of the Raleigh Wake
Citizens Association, a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, a founding
member of the Saint Augustine's College Falcon Foundation, and an
active member of several other national, state, and local organizations.
Representative Allen will be remembered as an advocate for educa
tion, as an advocate for his constituents, a man who dedicated his life to
public service and improving the lives of people in Wake County and
North Carolina, and a devoted husband, father, and grandfather.
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