W. George Allen, a hugely influential figure in Broward history and its black community, has died, his family confirmed Thursday. He was 83.
In 1962, Allen became the first African-American to graduate from the University of Florida. He once said: “I was admitted to Harvard and the University of California at Berkeley, but I’m a native Floridian, and I felt that somebody had to integrate the University of Florida. The racists told me I didn’t belong there and I’d never graduate.”
But he did. And he became a leading lawyer in Florida and the nation. Allen was at the forefront of the civil rights movement, including playing a key role in integrating public schools in Broward County.
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