Fightsfor change

The Indian-American beauty queen and entrepreneur will give her talk on ‘cultural competency’ in Dubai

Indian-American beauty queen and entrepreneur Nina Davuluri made history when she became the first contestant of Indian origin to win the Miss America title in 2013. Almost instantly, a barrage of racist comments began to pour in. She was too Indian for some of her fellow Americans, too dark-skinned for some of her fellow Indians. Enough was enough, Davuluri felt, and took matters into her own hands — she founded a skincare line to combat the negative beauty standards she grew up with, and began to speak out on the importance of meaningful inclusion.

Her motivational speeches have taken her from India to the UK, from Harvard to Princeton. Today, she will speak in Dubai as part of the Global WIL (Women in Leadership) Economic Forum 2018. But first, the 29-year-old tells tabloid! why the world still needs to change — and what she’s doing to change it.

When you were crowned Miss America 2014, two things happened: you made history, and you were the target of racist backlash on social media. How do you look back on that reaction, nearly five years later?

I was so proud to represent my culture and heritage on a platform like Miss America. Although I received a lot of xenophobic comments, I also received a lot of support and words of encouragement. Through that, I was able to launch my social media campaign internationally, #CirclesOfUnity, to encourage constructive and civil dialogue on diversity issues. I ask everyone to share representative thoughts and stories about their expe-