Brenda Allen was born and raised in Brownwood, Texas and is the daughter of Bridney Allen and John Hudson. She is currently a freshman at Brownwood High School.

One of Brenda’s biggest passions in life is playing sports. A big accomplishment of hers is getting selected to play on the Brownwood Varsity Softball team as a freshman. Like most kids she started playing at a young age. She found her love for sports including volleyball, basketball, and her major sport softball. Up until last season Brenda played with the Bombers travel team out of Waco for Amanda Sheffield. Her positions include pitcher, 1st, and some 3rd. Their travels included towns across Texas, went to New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

Brenda has been a recipient of many awards during her years of playing softball including 2-time Youth All American Pitching Ace Award, numerous MVP’s, and has over forty 1st an 2nd place tournament rings.

One of the most exciting experiences that Brenda always speaks about is meeting her Idol NiJaree Canady ( A Division Softball Pitcher, for Texas Tech). Brenda states seeing Canady’s success and determination inspires her as a African American pitcher. She also states that she hopes that she can get to the collegiate level of softball so she too can be an inspiration to young athletes.

Although sports play a major role in Brenda’s life, her education is equally as important. She is no stranger to putting in extra work to maintain all A’s. Without education you can’t fully be successful. Brenda’s ultimate goal after softball is to have a career in the medical field. Brenda will tell anyone, my mother will not accept anything less than an A.

With the challenges that we face day to day, Brenda favorite verse to lean on is Romans 8:18 (For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us). She loves this verse because it reminds her no matter how hard a situation may be it does not compare to the plan the Lord has set before you.

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”- Mya Angelou. Brenda Encourages people when you feel you have given the most you can give, you can always strive to give more!

Wow, what an incredible balanced, humbled young lady. Let’s come all together and celebrate this rising youth and all that she is, has and will accomplish.

***

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of Black History Month and Revitalizing Our Community (ROC) will be spotlighting amazing African Americans, who have made contributions to the community of Brownwood and Brown County.  Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) announced the second week of February to be “Negro History Week”. This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and that of Frederick Douglass on February 14, both of which Black communities had celebrated since the late 19th century

Black educators and Black United Students at Kent State University first proposed Black History Month in February 1969. The first celebration of Black History Month took place at Kent State a year later, from January 2 to February 28, 1970.

Six years later, Black History Month was being celebrated all across the country in educational institutions, when President Gerald Ford recognized Black History Month in 1976, during the celebration of the United States Bicentennial. He urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”