Throwback Thursday

 

Saundra Williams became the first Miss Black America on this day in 1968.

The Miss America pageant was being protested for misogyny and fatphobia, as well as racism.  So on the same day, in the same city, J. Morris Anderson and Phillip H. Savage put on their own show. Only the time of day was different, and Savage angled for the best coverage, starting their "positive protest" at midnight, hoping newsmen would drop by after the other pageant.

 Anderson wanted his young daughters to see they could be Miss America too, but in a way that would celebrate and embrace their Blackness.

For the talent portion, Miss Williams performed a traditional African dance.

"Miss America does not represent us.  With my title, I can show Black women they, too, are beautiful."

In 1971, Cheryl Browne Hollingsworth was the first African American woman to compete for Miss America.  In 1984, Vanessa Williams was the first to be crowned.

Miss Black America continues to this day.