Did you ever think you’d live to see the day when a dark-skinned Black woman, donning a TWA (teeny weeny afro) unapologetically, would win the title of Miss Universe?
Today we celebrate another Black woman securing a major pageant title this year. Miss South Africa, Zozibini Tunzi, was announced Miss Universe 2019 Sunday night and we couldn’t be more thrilled! She now joins the list of fierce Black women holding titles, including Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, and Miss America!
“Tonight a door was opened and I could not be more grateful to have been the one to have walked through it,” Tunzi, told the media after her triumphant win (h/t BBC News). “May every little girl who witnessed this moment forever believe in the power of her dreams and may they see their faces reflected in mine.”
More than 90 women competed for the title of Miss Universe, including Miss USA 2019, Cheslie Kryst who honored Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings during the costume competition. What made this evening even more iconic was that it broadcast live from the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s also worth mentioning that the pageant included its first openly gay contestant, Swe Zin Htet of Myanmar (a country that criminalizes homosexuality).
Tunzi, a 26-year-old activist and public relations professional, beat Puerto Rico’s Madison Anderson and Mexico’s Sofia Aragon in the final three. She is the first Black woman to be crowned Miss Universe since Leila Lopes of Angola in 2011.
Representation matters. Young Black girls get to see themselves in women who are currently on the nation’s, and now the world’s stage and who are killing the game! We’re proud of all this year’s winners, and even more proud of the platforms they stand upon, including Tunzi’s platform, which is centered on advocating for natural beauty and fighting gender-based violence.
“Zozibini Tunzi is a passionate activist and engaged in the fight against gender-based violence. She has devoted her social media campaign to changing the narrative around gender stereotypes. She is a proud advocate for natural beauty and encourages women to love themselves the way they are.”
The timing couldn’t be any better. Tunzi’s chocolate skin and natural hair serve as a symbol for the shift in beauty standards globally.
“Society has been programmed for a very long time that [it] never saw beauty in a way that was black girl magic, but now we are slowly moving to a time where women like myself can finally find a place in society, can finally know they’re beautiful,” said Tunzi onstage on Sunday night (h/t People).
The pageantry world is known for its unrealistic Eurocentric beauty standards, which have been under scrutiny for years, so this win is a win for all of us. Tunzi told Steve Harvey, the pageant’s host, that singing Beyonce’s Brown Skin Girl was part of her pageant prep during the week leading up to the big day.
“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,” Tunzi told the press corp after being crowned. “I think that it is time that that stops today.”
To learn more about all of this year’s pageant winners, keep reading!
Jasmine Danielle is the Associate Editor of BlackDoctor.org. She received her BFA in Dance Education & Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has since done work as a certified fitness & wellness educator, blogger, dancer, and designer.
Crown History! Miss USA, Miss Teen USA & Miss America Are Black Women
Remember when you used to watch pageant shows and you’d be rooting for the Black woman to win, but knowing in your gut, that she wouldn’t get it. But over the years, we have seen the shift change with more and more women of color getting the top spot. And now, for the first time ever, three Black women simultaneously hold titles from America’s biggest pageants!
Cheslie Kryst, who was crowned Thursday night, Kaliegh Garris, Nia Franklin, have been named Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, and Miss America, respectively.
Both Kryst and Garris received props on social media from fans and celebrities alike for rocking their natural hair throughout the national competition.
Cheslie Kryst, a 28-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, was crowned as the pageant’s 2019 winner Thursday night at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada.
For her last question in the final round, she was asked whether the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have gone too far.
“I don’t think these movements have gone too far,” she said. “What #MeToo and #TimesUp are about are making sure that we foster safe and inclusive workplaces in our country.
“As an attorney, that’s exactly what I want to hear and that’s exactly what I want for this country. i think they’re good movements.”
Kryst practices civil litigation for a law firm and also does free legal work for prisoners who may be sentenced unjustly, helping them to seek reduced punishments, one of her biographies on Miss USA’s website reads.
Garris revealed in a recent interview that when she entered the pageant world, people would often try to dissuade her from rocking her natural curls.
“The night before, I finger curled every single piece of my hair in the shower, which led to a very long shower, but it was for the greater good,” the 18-year-old Connecticut native told Refinery29. “I know what I look like with straight hair, with extensions, and with my curly hair, and I feel more confident and comfortable with my natural hair.” At competition time, Garris walked on the stage proudly wearing her curls, and she walked away with…
… the Miss Teen USA title, marking the first time in two decades that the crown was placed on natural hair.
“There was one day when my friend saw my curls coming in from my roots because I didn’t straighten my hair very well that day, and she was like, ‘You have beautiful curly hair, you should go natural.'” That one conversation encouraged Garris to grow out her hair and then go for the big chop. “My mom thought I was only going to get a little trim, but I actually chopped all the straight ends off, and ever since then, I’ve been natural,” the beautiful Garris adds.
“Being able to spread the message of diversity, being yourself, and being confident in your curly, natural hair is something that I’m really looking forward to with my new national title.”