She criticized the 1935 shooting of an unarmed Black man, Arthur Owens, by a white South Bend police officer.

[2][3][5] She also wrote a letter to and received a reply from then-first lady Eleanor Roosevelt to encourage integrated housing.

[3] She set a great example for the women of South Bend wanting to pursue a career path in the legal profession.

The South Bend Engman Public Natatorium was built in 1922 and for the first 14 years after its establishment, only white people could access the pool.

[5] In February 1950, Allen and her husband along with another attorney, Maurice Tulchinsky, represented the NAACP before the South Bend Park Board and that was the turning point of the desegregation process.

[7] Her civic contributions also included a variety of community organizations focused on the advancement of people of color and civil rights, including the South Bend chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Black Business and Professional Women's Association.