For The First Time In History, Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Teen, and Miss Universe are all Black Women. This has never happened before.
Kaliegh Garris , Miss Teen USA 2019 was the 37th Miss Teen USA pageant. It was held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada on April 28, 2019, and was hosted by Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez and Tim Tialdo. Hailey Colborn of Kansas crowned her successor Kaliegh Garris of Connecticut at the end of the event.
Kaliegh Garris , Miss Teen USA 2019 was the 37th Miss Teen USA pageant. It was held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada on April 28, 2019, and was hosted by Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez and Tim Tialdo. Hailey Colborn of Kansas crowned her successor Kaliegh Garris of Connecticut at the end of the event.
Charlotte lawyer Cheslie Kryst is now the reigning Miss USA. She earned a huge applause each time she was announced during the program, she cracked jokes and made poignant statements every time she spoke.
“I almost failed kindergarten. I was such a quiet child, my teachers didn’t know if I was ready for first grade,” she told the crowd. “I have since found my voice.
“No matter where you start, the possibilities for your future are limited only by the depth of your own imagination.”
Pageantry is in her bloodline: her mom, April Simpkins, was Mrs. North Carolina US in 2002.
An opera singer, Franklin is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and earned her master’s degree in music composition from UNC School of the Arts. She moved to New York after being accepted at the Kenan Fellow program at Lincoln Center Education in Manhattan.
During the competition, Franklin, who is black, described how music helped her find her identity.
“I grew up at a predominately Caucasian school and there was only five percent minority, and I felt out of place so much because of the color of my skin,” Franklin said. “But growing up, I found my love of arts, and through music that helped me to feel positive about myself and about who I was.”
She said she plans to advocate for the arts during her tenure as Miss America.
Zozibini Tunzi aka Miss South Africa was just crowned Miss Universe after rounds of swimsuit and evening gown struts. She was asked questions on current social issues and one final chance to explain why she wast the right selection.
“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me — with my kind of skin and my kind of hair — was never considered to be beautiful,” she said in her last response. “I think it is time that that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.”
