Congratulations are in order for a Houston-area high school student who made history last month when her animal took home the top prize at the 61st annual Aldine ISD Livestock Show and Auction.
As a member of Future Farmers of America, Angel Allen earned the highest title an FFA student can receive, making history as the first Black female to win the title of Grand Champion Steer at the district’s livestock show.
“I was still in shock,” the 17-year-old told local station KPRC. “It was like, ‘I just got first place and I made history all in one moment!’ “
Allen, a senior at Nimitz Senior High School, has been working hard these last few months. She raised her lovable steer, Butterscotch, for nine months in preparation for the Jan. 31 showing.
Butterscotch was later auctioned off for $16,500 — the funds from which will go directly back to the students. Allen said she plans to put the money toward her college education. The teen is set to continue her agricultural studies at Tarleton State University next fall.
“It was a lot to take in,” she added.
FFA, today is known as the National FFA Organization, is an extracurricular student group that provides learning and leadership opportunities for those interested in all things agriculture. Launched by a group of young farmers in 1928, the organization aims to “prepare future the generations for the challenges of feeding a growing population” and today boasts over 700,000 student members in more than 8,600 chapters across the U.S., according to its website.
Olivia Sippy, one of Allen’s FFA advisers, said the 17-year-old’s historic win means “everything to our program and our school district.
“Traditionally, in the U.S. today there are not many black women involved in agriculture,” Sippy told Atlanta Black Star via email. “It is our hope that Angel’s story will inspire other young girls to keep working hard to break through all of the barriers that they face on a daily basis.”
Angel, who’s been with FFA for 4 years now, has raised just about every animal for the district’s livestock show, including pigs and a lamb. After little success with the pigs her first two years, she switched to a lamb her junior year and won.
Allen had even bigger goals for her senior year and chose to challenge herself with a steer, or a bull that’s been castrated.
“We’re so proud of what Angel has been able to accomplish with her steer beyond earning the Champion title,” Sippy added. “She worked tirelessly to get him used to haltering, brushing, washing, walking and allowing others to touch him. All of that might not seem like much from the outside looking in, but as a teacher, watching their bond grow and being able to see how far they came from the beginning was magical.”
FFA has become increasingly diverse over the years and in 2017 elected its first African-American female president. Breanna Holbert, an agricultural education major at California State University, became one of six African-Americans to hold a national office within the organization.
Farming, in general, has become an interest among Black Millenials as they return to their roots and try their hand at agriculture. Data published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed a 20 percent spike in Black-owned and Black-operated farms between 2007 and 2012.
There’s still work to be done, however. While Blacks once owned nearly 15 million acres of farmland across the nation in the 1920s, that number has since dwindled in part as the result of discriminatory lending practices.
Today, African-Americans own just 7 million acres of farmland, accounting for less than 2 percent of all U.S. farmers.
Sippy said the shock and surprise on Allen’s face when they announced her as this year’s champion is something she won’t soon forget.
“She is such a wonderful kid,” she said. We are really going to miss her.”
Watch more in the video below.
