Women’s History Month Salute: Angela Dawson

The Farmer

Angela “Iyegbah” Dawson is a 4th-generation farmer and land sustainability specialist, who is carrying on her family’s lineage through Forty Acre Co-op, the first Black farming cooperative in the U.S. since Reconstruction. 

“My father’s family were all farmers who had large farming colonies in Iowa,” she said. “However, Black farming has been a difficult journey for them. They lost the farming legacy due to racist economic programs that directed resources to White farmers. So I was raised and fostered by my aunts in Minnesota, who were powerful community leaders.”

Born in Minnesota and raised part-time in Los Angeles, Dawson was in law school on track to become a corporate attorney when, she says, she was called back to her farming roots.

“I took a sabbatical to study the growing cannabis industry in other parts of the country where it was fully legal and became frustrated with the lack of diversity within business ownership,” she said. “What I saw was an intentional exclusion of Black business owners in this space.”

Today, she lives on her farm in Pine County, MN, with her partner Harold raising pigs, goats, chickens, dogs, and growing hemp and vegetables, while teaching others farmland sustainability. “I grow products that help people live a more balanced, healthy, and stress-free life.” She said, “and I use climate-friendly regenerative practices on my farm.”

After college, she stayed in Minnesota and raised three daughters who have established successful businesses and careers for themselves in Minnesota as well. “My children and my community motivate me to leave the world in a better, more just place than it was when I came into adulthood,” she said. 

“The farming legacy of my predecessors and the tenacity of small and regenerative farmers who persevere with ingenuity, even against significant barriers, inspires me. The realization that so many people do not understand the unique value and richness that encompasses the Black farmer is painful to witness.

“I’ve always been aware of the history and disposition of living in Minnesota as an American Descendant of Slaves (ADOS). But my experience with racism in the workplace in the form of unrelenting microaggressions and pay inequities led me on a search to discover my own value,” said Dawson. “I found a career that was more aligned with who I saw myself to be, and that also helps a lot of other people.” 

Dawson works with farmers who are just starting out and interested in regenerative farming and learning about the hemp and CBD market. She also teaches and mentors groups on building a cooperative, and hosts groups and tours as well as speaking to emerging farmers and cooperators. She is offering land access and ownership courses that will be available to the public in April.

“Success is doing work that aligns with my principles of fairness, justice, healing and creativity while establishing a legacy that my great-grandchildren can be proud of and helping other people do the same,” she said. 

“I am on a path to be one of the first Black women craft-cannabis business owners in the state of Minnesota. And that is no small feat when taking into consideration all of the barriers that exist in this industry.”

Her advice for those who want to follow in her footsteps: “The world can be a fearful and unforgiving place for young women. I would tell them to pursue their healing with no regrets. 

“They will find peace and purpose in their healing, and it will bring them more rewards than any job or degree can ultimately offer. I also encourage Black women to discover or seek out any farmers in their family history. There is richness in our families’ farming history.”