Our New Miss Black USA!!!

Congratulations to Miss Black USA 2010 - the stunning Osas Ighadaro of Connecticut!! Along with the big title, Ighadaro received the 2010 People's Choice Award and Miss Congeniality.

The top 5 was rounded out by:

1st Runner-Up - Georgia

2nd Runner-Up - Texas

3rd Runner-Up - North Carloina

4th Runner-Up - Ohio

Catch Miss America on Pageant Talk Radio!

Catch our lovely Miss America 2010, Caressa Cameron, full-hour interview on Pageant Talk Radio with Valerie Hayes! It aired this past Tuesday, but thankfully, you can get instant access to the episode anytime by clicking the show link: http://www.talkzone.com/episodes/242/2305.html. Caressa shares her #1 tip for finally capturing the crown, why her platform is needed, and the first thing she did after winning (it's probably NOT what you think!) Check it out, and also support her Miss America blog: http://blog.missamerica.org/

XOXO....
CB

Our New Miss America

This past Saturday our seventh African-American Miss America was crowned! Hailing from Virginia, 22-year-old Caressa Cameron dazzled the judges sporting a stunning canary yellow gown, and belted out a show-stopping rendition of "Listen" from the musical Dreamgirls (which earned her a prelimnary talent award earlier that week). This VCU student is living proof that persistence and hard work pays off: she competed for Miss Virginia (MAO) three times before winning the crown. Prior to that, she came in 2nd runner-up at both Miss Virginia USA and Miss Teen Virginia USA. Before venturing into the USA and Miss America systems, she won the title of Miss Teen Ethnic World 2005.

Caressa is another great example of the power of perserverance, hard work and continual improvement in achieving personal goals. She joins the ranks of national queens of color who relentlessly pursued their dream of prestigious crowns for 5 + years (i.e. Crystle Stewart - Miss USA 2008, Ericka Dunlap - Miss America 2004, Debbye Turner- Miss America 1990).
There are so many more I could name...but not enough time!

Keep shining, and growing brighter, so YOU can achieve your dream. The tools are all around you.

Congrats to our new Miss America, Caressa Cameron. We know her year of service will be both impactful and inspiring!

With pride,
CB

New MISS BLACK USA State Queens!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Rebekah Oliver

(of Phoenix )

MISS BLACK ARIZONA USA 2010

Zakiyyah Larry

(Representing Austin)

MISS BLACK TEXAS USA 2010

Miss America 2004 Continues on The Amazing Race!!

Miss America 2004, Ericka Dunlap-Kleinshmidt, and her hubby, continue on their journey on CBS' The Amazing Race. Tune in this Sunday, November 29th, on CBS at 8 PM Eastern Standard Time!

Happy Black Friday,
- CB

NEW Pageant for Black Women!

Lori Pelzer, Mrs. South Carolina International 2009 (and top-placing contestant in Mrs. SC America and Mrs. SC United States in recent years) has launched the Miss Black International Pageant!
There are currently state preliminaries in Georgia and South Carolina, and the organization is seeking more state directors, as well as at-large contestants.

For more info on this exciting new pageant organization, please click below: http://missblackinternational.webs.com
Capture it,
CB

Hampton University Crowns First Non-Black Queen

Wow, Hampton University crowns it's first Non-Black University Queen!
What a milestone for them! Or is it?

22-year-old nursing senior Nikole Churchill reports that since winning the coveted title, she has been met with prejudice opposition, gossip, and doubts by her fellow Hamptonians on her ability to represent the historically black institution.

In response to the mixed responses she received, she decided to write an open letter to President Obama. Yep, the PRES...inviting him to speak at her university on racial tolerance.

That only fanned the flame. Outrage from Hampton University staff and students prompted Miss Churchill to issue an apology because she did not have permission from the pageant nor university to speak publicly on the controversy. Many believe that her public letter has caused more negative press about Hampton University. Hopefully, the controversy will settle down and Miss Churchill can have a peaceful and productive reign as Miss Hampton University 2009-2010. She is representing her university at the Miss Virginia Pageant, which is a prelim in the Miss America Scholarship Pageant System.

MY PERSPECTIVE: As a Miss America System Alum, I too represented the minority of my hometown being only the second Black woman crowned in the 80+ history of my city's pageant. Mind you, this was a southern city with only a little over 30% being African-American, and the majority of the city's population was, and still is, Caucasian. So was I unable to represent my hometown because I didn't fit into mold of the majority of women there? Was I incapable of being a spokeswoman for the causes I believed because historically, my city was established and heavily industrialized by Whites? Was my talent somehow discredited? My beauty somehow inadequate? My intellect irrelevant? A resounding NO. No, no, no.

So congrats Ms. Churchill. My hats off to you. You show exactly how far even HBCUs have come in being respected instutitions of higher-learning for Americans of ALL ethnicities. How incredible to see that Americans of varying racial backgrounds choose HBCUs as their place of career development and educational enhancement. It is a true mark of diversity, and the excellence of African-Americans contribution to the betterment of our country.

For more info on this story:
The Daily Press Article: http://www.dailypress.com/wtkr-miss-hampton,0,6521092.story

Miss Virginia: http://www.missva.com/
Miss America: www.missamerica.org
Hamptonm University: http://www.hamptonu.edu/

-CB