I remember the date, September 17, 1983. I was in high school. I had just gotten off work at the local grocery store in my hometown. Many teenagers had weekend jobs during these years. I was no exception. It was almost midnight. I had just gotten home and turned on the television. My parents were asleep. I turned to NBC to catch the end of the Miss America pageant. It was here where I saw legendary television host Gary Collins announce the second runner-up. She was a young White woman from Alabama. I was not surprised. Then he announced the first runner-up: Suzette Charles, Miss New Jersey. I was like “wow, she’s Black!” I immediately became glued to the television. A few minutes later, Collins announces “ladies and gentlemen, Miss America 1984 is … Vanessa Williams, Miss New York.” I was admittedly surprised. I sat in front of the television for several minutes and watched in silence as Ms. Williams took her walk down the runway. I was so astounded that I woke my parents up to tell them the news.
On January 30, 2010, another Black woman, Caressa Cameron, Miss Virginia, became the latest recipient of America’s most coveted pageant crown. Beginning in 2006, the pageant changed the date of the pageant from September to January. This same year, it also moved from its longtime home of Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Las Vegas. In September 1950, the Miss America Organization decided to postdate the year of the winner so that the titleholder would be able to serve for the majority of the actual year of her reign. Therefore, there is no Miss America 1950. Yolanda Betbeze is Miss America 1951.
While Cameron’s win in January 2010 did not elicit as much shock and surprise as Williams’ in 1983, it did make me (and I’m sure a number of other people of color) proud to see yet another Black woman win the Miss America title. Since 1983, eight African-American women have won the crown: Vanessa Williams, Miss America 1984; Suzette Charles, Miss America 1984; Debbye Turner, Miss America 1990; Marjorie Judith Vincent, Miss America 1991; Kimberly Aiken, Miss America 1994; Erika Harold, Miss America 2003; Erica Dunlap, Miss America 2004; and, now, Ms. Cameron, Miss America 2010. That is an average of once every three years. This is quite remarkable given the fact that it was not until September 1970 that the first Black woman, Cheryl Brown, Miss Iowa, competed in the national contest. The pageant has also had one Asian American winner, Angela Perez Baraquio, representing Hawaii who became Miss America 2001. The number of Black contestants who have finished in the top five has been noteworthy as well.
Observers of contemporary popular culture have provided a number of reasons for the considerable success of Black contestants. I have my own theories. By the 1990s, American society had began to actively embrace multiculturalism and diversity (at least publicly). Also a growing number (and percentage) of 18- to 24-year-olds were members of ethnic minority groups; thus, it would be reasonable that by this time a considerable number of women who competed in such pageants would be women of color.
