Miss Black America

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Claire Ford, 1977 Miss Black America, during a USO show, 1978. Miss Black America 1977, Claire Ford, at USO show c1978.jpg
Claire Ford, 1977 Miss Black America, during a USO show, 1978.

The Miss Black America beauty contest is a competition for young African-American women. The pageant has garnered the support of artists, activists and performers including Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and Oprah Winfrey. After 40 years, in 2009 the pageant had a "kick off" in Washington, D.C. to rebrand the competition. The first teen winner was Ashley Anglin. The first runner-up teen was Monet Jackson, a resident of Mitchellville, MD; and Destiny Welch, second runner-up and also an MD resident. The adult winner was DC native and MD resident, Miss Kamilla Collier-Mullin. The first runner-up Miss Cherie A. Bryant, a northern Virginia resident; and the second runner up was Miss Janesia Simmons in the adult pageant.

Contents

History

It was originally a local Philadelphia area contest to protest the lack of black women in the Miss America pageant. J. Morris Anderson created and produced the Miss Black America Pageant along with Brenda Cozart who organized and directed the pageant also serving as a beauty consultant for contestants and recruiter which started on August 17, 1968, at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlantic City. [1] With support from Phillip H. Savage, Tri-State Director of the NAACP, the pageant received nationwide press coverage as a protest against the Miss America Pageant, an event that Mr. Savage and other NAACP leaders had long condemned for exclusion of black women contestants.

In September 1977, NBC televised the Miss Black America contest, [2] the day before CBS televised Miss America.

The winners

YearMiss Black AmericaHometown and/or Home State
1968Saundra Williams Pennsylvania
1969Gloria O. Smith New York
1970Stephanie Clark DC
1971Joyce Warner Florida
1972Linda Barney New Jersey
1973Arniece Russell New York
1974Von Gretchen Shepard Los Angeles, California
1975Donzeila Johnson Pennsylvania
1976Twanna KilgoreWashington, D.C.
1977Claire Ford Memphis, Tennessee
1978Lydia Jackson Willingboro, New Jersey
1979Varetta Shankle Mississippi
1980Sharon Wright Chicago, Illinois
1981 Pamela Jenks Boston, Massachusetts
1982Susan Wells Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1983 Sonya Robinson Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1984 Lydia S.Garrett Columbia, South Carolina
1985 Amina Fakir Detroit, Michigan
1986Rachel Oliver Burlington, North Carolina
1987 Leila McBride Denver, Colorado
1988Regina WallaceFlorida
1989Paula GwynnWashington DC
1990Rosie Jones Bridgeport, Connecticut
1991 Sharmell Sullivan Gary, Indiana
1992Marilyn DeShieldsVirginia, Richmond
1994Pilar Fort Detroit, Michigan
1995Karen D. Wallace Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
1996Basheerah Ahmad Choctaw, Oklahoma
2010Ashley Anglin-TeenDC Metropolitan
2010Kamilla Collier-Mullin, AdultDC Metropolitan
2010Natasha Ashby - Teen Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2010Donielle Turner, Adult Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2014Alexandra Morton, Adult Baltimore, Maryland
2015Jelisa Barringer, Adult Ohio
2016Nicole Lynette Hibbert, Adult Delaware
2017 Brittany Lewis, Adult District of Columbia
2018 Ryann Richardson, Adult Brooklyn, New York
2022 Gabrielle Wilson, Adult Los Angeles, California
2023 Ashley Myatt, Adult Detroit, Michigan
2023 Elizabeth Dicker, Senior Newark, New Jersey

References

  1. "The Ritz-Carlton Hotel - Atlantic City" (PDF). Historical Timeline. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  2. "Milestones". Miss Black America. Archived from the original on April 4, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  3. "Miss Black America: The Pageant Changed History". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  4. "Miss Black America Documentary". AASuccess.com. Retrieved 2016-12-18.
  5. "Subjects of Desire". Subjects of Desire. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  6. "2021 SXSW Film Festival Lineup". SXSW. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-09.