The National FFA Organization, formerly known as Future Farmers of America, is one of today’s most well-known youth agriculture programs, preparing young minds for a prospective career in the industry. But do you know about the New Farmers of America (NFA), which helped guide and encourage Black youth to become established in agriculture as well as develop leadership and citizenship skills? Founded in the 1930s in the era of segregation, the NFA had a similar mission to FFA. The two organizations merged in 1965, and much of its original history was forgotten – until now.
History of the New Farmers of America
“My father was an NFA member, and I was mentored by former NFA members as well. The presence of Black male agricultural leaders had a great influence in my life,” says Dr. Antoine Alston, associate dean in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (N.C. A&T).
Alston grew up in the agriculture industry and has spent the past decade or so researching and reviving the history of NFA and its legacy at N.C. A&T. He wants to emphasize the importance of African American history and the role NFA played in shaping agriculture, especially in North Carolina.
See more: FFA Chapters Grow Farm-Fresh Food
“In a lot of the U.S., the history of NFA and Black history, in general, has been told from a Eurocentric perspective, and the contributions of African Americans have been totally wiped out. Members of NFA were leaders in their communities and the headquarters was here at North Carolina A&T,” he says. “Looking at the legacy it had in North Carolina, and my own personal connections, I knew this story had to be told.”
The History of NFA
The NFA was founded in 1935 in Tuskegee, Alabama, with the mission of promoting vocational agricultural education throughout the South, and teaching farming, leadership and citizen values to young Black males. At the time, schools were still segregated. In 1965, before its merger with FFA, the organization had more than 1,000 chapters and more than 58,000 active members.
Earlier this year, Alston coauthored a book detailing the history and legacy of NFA, along with Netta Cox, university librarian, associate professor of library services, and head of serials and government documents at F.D. Bluford Library at N.C. A&T, and Dexter B. Wakefield, professor and associate dean at Alcorn State University in Mississippi.
In his research, Alston says he came across some very interesting findings.
“One thing that really stuck out to me was NFA’s presence during WWII,” Alston says. “High school agriculture programs were used to promote food production and canning, and the organization increased the amount of food available for soldiers.”
He says that notable figures including Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver also have ties to NFA, with the latter serving as the keynote speaker at the first national NFA convention in 1935.
See more: Harvesting the Past at the North Carolina Museum of History
Digitizing for the Future
In addition to publishing their book, The Legacy of the New Farmers of America, Alston and Cox also received a $334,000 grant from the National FFA Foundation to digitize 150,000 archival documents and materials associated with NFA at Bluford Library in collaboration with the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at N.C. A&T.
“The three-year grant project will increase the availability and discoverability of primary source materials on the NFA from the early 20th century through the 1970s,” Cox says. “Much of the collection has not been made available to the public. Providing web access to the NFA collection will allow students, scholars and the public worldwide access to memorabilia about an organization that played a vital role in agriculture during the years of segregation.”
Cox says that materials include a variety of scrapbooks, pamphlets, photographs, reports, as well as video and audio materials. To help with the process, she plans to hire a full-time digital librarian and recruit N.C. A&T students to organize, describe and digitize the collection.
Bringing NFA to the Forefront
In 2022, the National FFA Organization published an article about NFA’s history to recognize the organization and all it contributed to today’s FFA programming, in addition to providing the grant for digitization.
Alston says that moving forward, his hope is that FFA will use the legacy of NFA to increase demographic representation throughout the organization.
“NFA’s legacy is one of excellence, innovation and leadership,” Alston says. “I hope that FFA will use that as a steppingstone to bring more people of all races and backgrounds into the organization.”
See more: Waxhaw’s Museum of the Alphabet Profiles Lingual History
– Rachel Stroop
1927 – North State Farmers, which would eventually become the NFA, founded at N.C. A&T University 58,000 – Active NFA members in the 1960s 1965 – NFA merges with FFA 2022 – The Legacy of the New Farmers of America is published, bringing national attention to the NFA 150,000 – Archival NFA documents that N.C. A&T is in the process of digitizingMore Info
I was a member of the New Farmers of America from Brewley High School in Scotland Neck NC, I attended the state convention at North Carolina A&T in 1959 and 1960. Something I will never forget some of the best times I had in high school.