Martina Johnson-Allen was born August 4, 1947, in Philadelphia. She grew up in a segregated neighborhood but attended an integrated elementary school until the age of seven, when she moved to West Philadelphia, where both the neighborhood and the schools were segregated. Johnson-Allen remained in a segregated environment until she enrolled in Pennsylvania State University. Her father originally encouraged her to apply to Cheyney University, one of the oldest historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the United States, located in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. She understood that enrollment at HBCUs was typically filled quickly so she also applied and was accepted at Pennsylvania State University, a decision she now regrets because she missed out on being exposed to the “unique treasures” found at HBCUs. Johnson-Allen joined the historically Black Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and earned a BA in elementary education in 1969, but lamented that her focus limited her exposure to other disciplines. She was interested in computer science and anthropology but did not see herself in those fields because of her gender and race.
Johnson-Allen taught in the Philadelphia Public Schools and became a museum art teacher upon retirement. She went on to earn an MFA in art education and printmaking from the University of the Arts and studied Amharic at the University of Pennsylvania. She also trained at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and the Abington Art Center in Jenkintown, and she took bookbinding master classes at the Center for the Book Arts in New York. Johnson-Allen participates in the Orton Dyslexia Society, which motivates her to “maintain a strong art curriculum while teaching in the Philadelphia Public Schools.” Her personal motto is “Teach Artfully,”[1] and she has described art making as “a ritual that reveres, honors and communicates with my ancestors thus creating an acute awareness of my connection to nature and sense of purpose.”
PMA Collection
Notes
[1] Johnson-Allen n.d.
References
Johnson-Allen, Martina. N.d. “Martina Johnson-Allen.” Art in Embassies, US Department of State. Accessed December 3, 2021. https://art.state.gov/personnel/martina_johnson-allen/.
“Martina Johnson-Allen.” N.d. Art at Kings Oaks. Accessed December 1, 2021. https://kingsoaksart.com/martina-johnson-allen/.
Oral history with Martina Johnson-Allen, conducted by Maia Hill, March 18, 2021. Black Alumni Oral History Collection, no. 10056, Eberly Family Special Collections Library, Pennsylvania State University. https://sites.psu.edu/blackstudenthistories/2021/04/25/martina-johnson-allen/.
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