Vivian Ayers Allen, a renowned Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet, cultural activist and mother to icons Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad, has died. She was 102.

Debbie confirmed the news in an Instagram post dedicated to the family’s beloved matriarch.

“Mommie you have transformed into that cosmic bird Hawk that lives and breathes Freedom. We will follow your trail of golden dust and continue to climb higher,” Debbie began the post, set to Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady” and including a carousel of photos and video.

She continued, “We promise

“to be true

be beautiful

be Free”

Love Love Love Love Love❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Norman, Debbie, Lish, Tex, Hugh, Vivi, Thump, Condola, Billy, Oliver, Gel, Tracey, Carmen, Shiloh, Aviah, Eillie, Gia, and all the Turks in our family.”

Vivian, affectionately known as “Ma Turk” by her loved ones, was a talented and well-respected woman to her family and others who adored her. Her birthday on July 29 was spent surrounded by “four generations [who] showed up to celebrate,” according to Debbie in an Instagram post.

How did Ayers Allen start her career?

The literary icon was born in 1923 in Chester, South Carolina. At 16, she graduated from the Brainerd Institute. She went on to attend Barber-Scotia College and Bennett College, later receiving honorary doctorate degrees from Bennett and Wilberforce University, according to Rolling Out.

Her writing career began in Houston with the 1952 poetry collection Spice of Dawns, which earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination. In 1957, her poem “Hawk,” a powerful metaphor of freedom linked to space flight, was published just weeks before the launch of Sputnik 1, per Rolling Out.

Several decades later, in 2024, Vivian was honored for her contributions to NASA. According to Blavity, the federal agency held a ceremony in Houston recognizing women who advanced the space field. Vivian’s poem “Hawk” remains one of her most impactful works.

“And then one night, unwittingly, I walked out, looked up and discovered a diamond-studded sky/’Look at that,’ I thought/ A world resplendent with beauty and truth and dignity and freedom/ It was the first time I had ever really seen it/ The perfect scheme, then crystallized in my mind/ I would convert this energy to the wings and take to the stratosphere/I’d soar up there,” an excerpt of the poem reads.

NASA also honored Vivian with a photo of her and the “Hawk” poem at the space center.

In 2023, a revised version of “Hawk” was released to celebrate Vivian’s 100th birthday, according to a news release from Clemson University.

Dr. Vivian Ayers Allen

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