Dr. Troy D. Allen, a professor of African-American studies at Southern University-Baton Rouge died Friday, March 17. He was 57.
A full professor of the Department of History, Allen taught thousands of students World Civilization, African-American History, Race Relations, and History of Ancient Egypt courses over a span of 20 years.
Allen was also an adjunct instructor of African-American studies at LSU.
Born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, Allen earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Point Park University in Pittsburgh in 1990.
He went on to receive his Master of Arts in Black Studies and Black Community Development from the Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in African-American Studies from Temple University.
Allen began working with the Southern University Department of History in 1997.
In 2008 Allen’s book, “The Ancient Egyptian Family: Kinship and Social Structure” was published by Routledge Press.
His contributions to academia include scholarly articles on race and African-American studies published in the Journal of Black Studies and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Dr. Allen’s passing comes as a shock to many. By Friday afternoon, the news had spread to social media with students from all over the country recounting their fondest memories of a beloved and respected professor.
Dr. Shawn Comminey is the Associate Chair of the Department of History and a close personal colleague of Dr. Allen.
“There was an energy and enthusiasm and passion that he displayed in the classroom, you can easily tell how the students really fed off of him,” said Comminey.
“He was a good colleague and a great professor and he’s definitely going to be missed by us all,” finished Comminey.
Monday afternoon, students from both Southern University and LSU held a candle light vigil to honor the memory and work that Dr. Allen left so many students with.
Junior Business and Marketing major, Armond Duncan, was one of the students who attended the candle light vigil held Monday night on the bluff.
Duncan recounted what made Dr. Allen a professor that stood out from the rest and how much his passing means to students.
“Dr. Allen was different; it was evident in everything he did. He was passionate and very hands on,” said Duncan, “He saw the importance of students of color learning what we’ve accomplished as a people.”
Duncan was first acquainted with Dr. Allen after taking his African-American history class in 2015.
Across town students of the Black Student Union at LSU also paid honor to Dr. Allen’s legacy with a candle light vigil of their own.
During the vigil, Allen’s colleague, close friend and Black Faculty and Staff Caucus President (BFSC), Roland Mitchell, spoke in remembrance of Allen.
”He was so upstanding and so brilliant. He’s one of the guys that introduced to me what it was like to be a black man at LSU and that’s not always a easy thing. He did it with grace, he did it with pride and he did it with kindness. He’s the dude we wanted to be,” stated Mitchell.
The ceremony included students, friends and neighbors giving first hand accounts of their relationship with the professor.
The Advocate reports that funeral arrangements are currently pending at Hall Davis and Son Funeral Service.
Current and former students gather in the Student Union on Monday, March20, to honor the legacy of SU History professor, Dr.Troy Allen, who passed away on Friday, March 17.
