Black women sweep pageants for first time
The crowning of Miss World 2019 closed out this year’s historic pageant circuit, marking the first time black women won the titles for all five top beauty contests.
On Saturday, Jamaica’s Toni-Ann Singh was named Miss World, joining advocates for prison reform, women’s rights and music education who used their platform to address conventional beauty standards: Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi, Miss America Nia Franklin, Miss USA Cheslie Kryst and Miss Teen USA 2019 Kaliegh Garris.
“To that little girl in St.
Thomas, Jamaica, and all the girls around the world — please believe in yourself,” Singh wrote on Twitter. “Please know that you are worthy and capable of achieving your dreams. This crown is not mine but yours. You have a PURPOSE.”
Singh, 23, graduated from Florida State University with degrees in psychology and women’s studies and plans to attend medical school.
The franchises have evolved over time, becoming more and more inclusive — on the basis of race, sexual orientation and religious affiliation — even as the pageants continue to grapple with criticism over objectification.
Still, the slate of 2019 winners shows how far these contests have come, summarized in the powerful speech Tunzi, of South Africa, gave just before she was crowned.
“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me, with my kind of skin and my kind of hair, was never considered beautiful,” Tunzi told the crowd last week. “I think it is time that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face. And I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.”
Miss USA and Teen USA also wore their crowns atop natural curls. Garris, who attended high school in Connecticut, told Elle that she will “always compete with my natural hair.”
Franklin, an opera singer with a master’s degree in music composition from the University of North Carolina, said music helped her confidence.
“I grew up at a predominantly Caucasian school and there was only 5 percent minority, and I felt out of place so much because of the color of my skin,” Franklin said. “But growing up, I found my love of arts, and through music that helped me to feel positive about myself and about who I was.”
Kryst is an attorney with a law degree and an MBA from Wake Forest who is working to reform the criminal justice system. Tunzi has raised awareness of climate change and gender-based violence. Garris started We Are People 1st, which aims to educate others about people like her sister who live with disabilities. Franklin has advocated for the preservation of arts education in school.