Will Allen (born February 8, 1949) is an American urban farmer based in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

and a retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player.

Basketball career

Will Allen was a high school state champion in basketball at

Richard Montgomery High School Richard Montgomery High School (RMHS) (#201) is a secondary public school located in Rockville, Maryland. Academics The school houses Montgomery County's first International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB). This competitive-entry magnet pro ...

in Rockville, Maryland Allen played collegiately for the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

, where he was on a basketball scholarship. He was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

to play basketball for the

. After college Allen was selected by the Baltimore Bullets in the 4th round (60th pick overall) of the 1971 NBA draft. He never played in the NBA, but appeared in seven games with

The Floridians ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

of the ABA during the 1971–72 season. He also played professionally in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Allen retired from basketball in 1977, when he was 28. Upon retirement, Allen moved to his wife Cynthia's hometown of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

Urban farming

Will Allen's parents were sharecroppers in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

until they took part in the Great Migration and moved to Rockville, Maryland, where Allen grew up. Finishing a career in marketing, Allen left a job at

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

in 1993 and purchased a derelict plant nursery that was in foreclosure, located on the north side of

. Around this time, Allen also purchased a 100-acre farm in Oak Creek, previously owned by his wife's parents. Allen became the director of Growing Power, an

urban farming Urban agriculture, urban farming, or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas. It encompasses a complex and diverse mix of food production activities, including fisheries and for ...

project in

, with a 40-acre farm west of Milwaukee in the town of Merton and an offshoot project in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

run by Allen's daughter, Erika. Under increasing debt after two decades of operation, the nonprofit discontinued in 2017. Allen remains active on the site in north Milwaukee through his company Will Allen Farms, LLC. In 2005, Allen was awarded a

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

leadership grant on behalf of his urban farming work. In 2008, he was awarded the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

Genius Grant The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...

" for his work on

and sustainable food production. In 2009, the Kellogg Foundation gave Allen a grant to create jobs in

urban agriculture Urban agriculture, urban farming, or urban gardening is the practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas. It encompasses a complex and diverse mix of food production activities, including fisheries and fo ...

. Will Allen appears in the

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

, ''

Fresh Fresh or FRESH may refer to: People *DJ Fresh (born 1977), UK-based drum and bass artist *DJ Fresh (producer), US-based R&B producer born Marqus Brown Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Fresh'' (1994 film), a crime film * ''Fresh'' (200 ...

''. The film refers to Allen as "one of the most influential leaders of the

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World ...

and

movement." Will Allen is the co-author, with Charles Wilson, of the book ''The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People and Communities'', published by Gotham Books, a member of

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initi ...

, USA. The book was nominated for a 2013 NAACP

Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

in the category of biography/autobiography. Allen is also the subject of 2014's ''Farmer Will Allen & the Growing Table'', written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrated by Eric-Shabazz Larkin. On May 20, 2012, Allen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Agriculture degree from the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...

. He also delivered the commencement address for the graduation ceremony held on that day.

References

External links

The 2010 Time 100 — Heroes: Will Allen
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'', April 29, 2010
10 Milliarden: Wie werden alle satt?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Will 1949 births Living people African-American basketball players American agricultural writers American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) draft picks Basketball players from Maryland Farmers from Wisconsin MacArthur Fellows Miami Floridians players Miami Hurricanes men's basketball players Basketball players from Milwaukee Sportspeople from Rockville, Maryland University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople African-American environmentalists Urban farmers

Basketball career

Urban farming

See also

References

External links