Black Women Top Major Beauty
Pageant Competitions in 2019.
Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa was officially named
Miss Universe on Dec. 8, making her the fourth black
woman to win a major beauty pageant in 2019.
The other 2019 winners were Kaliegh Garris as Miss Teen USA,
Nia Franklin as Miss America and Cheslie Kryst as Miss USA.
The combination of these wins marks a historic moment,
as it is the first time that the top prizes in four major beauty
pageants have been simultaneously awarded to black women. .
According to Hilary Levey Friedman, a visiting
professor at Brown University, these wins signify
a necessary expansion of inclusion and equality.
The idea of what we think is beautiful
has expanded … Skin color. Body type.
Curly hair. If you look at all this year’s
winners, they look like themselves, Hilary Levey Friedman, via ’The New York Times'.
In her Miss Universe closing address, Tunzi described
the significance of her win and the impact she hopes it has. .
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 beautiful … I think it
is time 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, Zozibini Tunzi, via ‘The New York Times'