Crowning Glory
Before she passed away from cancer, A.J. Walters made her husband and daughter promise her one thing: Sean would accompany Brittany, a high school senior, to the homecoming game, where she was in the running for homecoming queen. A.J. was a beloved administrative assistant at Brittany’s high school, Forrest County Agricultural in Brooklyn, Mississippi. It was important to her that her daughter go. Brittany and Sean agreed.
Days later, on the morning of Friday, September 24, A.J. died. Keeping their promise, that very afternoon, an emotional Brittany walked arm in arm with her father across the football field with the other nominees to await the outcome of the voting.
Brittany wasn’t named homecoming queen that day; Nyla Covington was. But, like many in the close-knit community, Nyla had heard about A.J. In an unplanned gesture, moments after receiving the crown, Nyla walked over to Brittany, removed the tiara from her head, and placed it atop her friend’s. The two embraced, tearfully clutching each other for support. “She’d rather have her mom than a crown,” Nyla told CNN. By handing it to Brittany, “I was telling her that she was her mom’s queen, and that she was loved by many, especially me.”
“I felt so much love from her, and I just felt so much love for her,” said Brittany, who paid Nyla the ultimate compliment, telling WDAM News, “I can see my mom through Nyla. They have the same caring, giving spirit.”
Nyla is no less regal for lack of a crown, says Tyra Willamor-idom, a friend of the Walters family. She told
KTVU News, “There’s a saying that real queens fix each other’s crowns. But the truth is, real queens give up their crowns to let other queens shine.”