Black is Beautiful: For the First Time in History, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss America are all Black Women

Bow Down B*tches, there are three new queens in town, all in which are changing the face of the pageant world and making history at the same damn time.

Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst, Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin and Miss Teen USA 2019 Kaliegh Garris are all simultaneously holding the most coveted titles and crowns in the pageant world. And guess what? They’re all BLACK women!

Let’s get into why this is so groundbreaking shall we?

The standard of beauty in the pageant world has pretty much remained the same since the first official Miss America pageant in 1921. The contestants and winners have been predominately made up of white women since inception. In fact, it wasn’t until 1971 that the Miss America pageant had its first black contestant, Cheryl Browne (Iowa). Up until then, African-Americans were not allowed to enter the competition according to one of its rules which read: "contestants must be of good health and of the white race". *rolls eyes.

It would take more than ten years for the beauty/scholarship competition to see its first black winner. Actor Vanessa Williams took home the title of Miss America in 1984.

These facts only stress the importance and value of this year’s winners. Not only are these women basking in their melanin glory, they are all also boss a** women!

Kryst, who represents North Carolina, is a civil litigation attorney who received her law degree and MBA from Wake Forest University. Some of her clients include prison inmates who she represents for free.

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On September 28, 2017, I was sworn in to the North Carolina Bar. It was one of the proudest moments of my life. This morning I had the privilege of being sworn in to the South Carolina Bar. Praise God for helping me to remain undefeated on the bar exam!! Many thanks to my family and friends for supporting me while I studied this summer (I hated every moment of it). Also, a huge thanks to my incredible firm and coworkers for the constant support and kind words I needed. #TwoBarShawty 😂😂

A post shared by Cheslie Kryst, JD, MBA (@chesliekryst) on Dec 18, 2018 at 2:30pm PST

Garris a Connecticut native who is still in high school but plans to attend Southern Connecticut State University’s nursing program as she plans to become a trauma nurse in the future. 

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Still feels like I’m dreaming✨...see who else’s dream comes true tonight on @foxtv live from #RenoTaho make sure to check your local listings for air times!

A post shared by Kaliegh Garris (@kalieghgarris) on May 2, 2019 at 12:41pm PDT

Franklin represented New York and holds a master's degree in music composition from UNC School of the Arts. She is an opera singer and an advocate for arts advocacy. 

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Tonight was one of the best experiences I’ve had as Miss America so far. I met Deborah Borda, the NY Philharmonic President and CEO, back in September and she asked me to host an event they were having in April - so here we are! Getting to share the stage with world class musicians/Maestro Jaap van Zweden and host the New York Philharmonic was truly an honor. These are moments I prayed for. The energy from the crowd was electric ⚡️ 3 more shows to go! #hostlyfe

A post shared by Nia Imani (@niaimanifranklin) on Apr 4, 2019 at 7:28pm PDT

Congratulations to these 2019 beauty queens. They are embodiment of #BlackgirlMagic !