08 June 2007 21:19

Miss Black USA contestants celebrate their dignity in The Gambia, West Africa
To the undiscerning eye it looks like just another beauty pageant—beautiful young women wearing sashes proclaiming states from Miss Black Alaska to Miss Black U.S. Virgin Island to Miss Black Tennessee, who won the crown—36 women in all.

But the glitz, glamour and every hair in place means much more than outer beauty.“This has never been a frivolous program,” says Karen Arrington, the pageant's founder. “It is a vehicle to provide opportunity for African-American women. This year we are bridging the gap and connecting with our ancestral home, Africa with the theme 'A Royal Journey Back to Our Roots'.”

The Miss Black USA Scholarship pageant is celebrating its 20th year and held the competition for the first time outside of the U.S., in The Gambia, West Africa, culminating with the finals last Friday evening.

The Gambia gained worldwide attention when the late author Alex Haley, traced his ancestor Kunte Kinte to a Gambian village in the landmark book and later television series “Roots”.

For the Miss Black USA contestants, holding the pageant in Africa represents the opportunity of a lifetime. Each contestant has been partnered with a Gambian girl in a pen pal relationship. The Gambian girls greeted and accompanied them on a tour of Kunte Kinte's village. “We have bonded forever,” says Cleantha Samuel, Miss Black U.S. Virgin Island, a crowd favorite who was the second runner up for the coveted crown. “I have agreed to sponsor my pen pal and I will be paying her high school fees as well as for her sister. It is a blessing for me to be able to provide needed resources. I look forward to coming back.” Samuel is a cost analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense.

In addition to the educational partnerships, there is also a medical partnership. The pageant is sponsoring a new ward at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Serekunda, Gambia, and is also involved in a diabetes awareness program.

The Miss Black USA pageant brought testing monitors and strips to Gambia and scores of Gambian citizens took part in a day of free testing and health education. “We are returning to our homeland to help change the course of history,” says Arrington.

Given recent racist assaults on the character of the black woman, Arrington is also quite certain that there remains a place for the Miss Black USA pageant. “The recent Imus incident is a perfect example of the stereotypes that still exist and why the world needs this pageant. Miss Black USA is about celebrating who we are,” she says. Tiffany Dawn Boatner, Miss Black Colorado agrees, “This is about a lot more than beauty. It's about learning who we are, where we come from, learning life lessons and skills. I've learned patience and my faith in God has been reaffirmed,” she says.

All the contestants and participants including parents, pageant judges and staff, spoke enthusiastically about the warmth and hospitality of the Gambian people from President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh to the man and woman in the street. When the contestants arrived on a plane at 3:30 a.m., on May 25 there was a delegation of more than 200 Gambian singers, dancers and other citizens to welcome them “home.”

Miss Black Colorado explains, “the welcome and the warmth of the people exceeded my expectation. Our send-off in the United States pales in comparison to the way we were welcomed here. The people are so genuine. Whatever we needed or asked for they would get it. I feel so at peace here.” This welcoming attitude of the Gambian people was an inspiration to the contestants. Miss Maryland says, “This is less about beauty and talent and more about what we can contribute. We can be involved in the country's advancement.”

From the moment the contestants arrived in The Gambia and in the days leading up to the final event on Friday, they were busy with life lessons, rehearsals, touring and shopping. They stayed at the Kairaba, The Gambia's premier hotel nestled in 40 acres of paradise. The two-story Portuguese style houses with shaded terraces, face an Eden-like garden with more than 100 varieties of fruit trees and flowers. There are birds of every color, including a peacock strolling around the large double-circular pool. Amidst this luxury, it is sobering to remember that just a few steps away is the beach facing the Atlantic ocean that our ancestors traveled in slave ships.

The competition included a talent showcase. Andrea J. Reynolds, Miss Black Kentucky, is studying for her Masters of Music Performance and Piano Pedagogy at the University of Louisville. She played a grand piano and sang a song she wrote. At the end of her performance, the audience jumped to its feet in applause. Ayesha Faines, Miss Black Connecticut, a student at Yale University majoring in African and International Studies, danced “en pointe” in an orange colored tulle tutu to the South African song “Stimela” by Hugh Maskela. Jacqueine Echols, Miss Black Washington State, a psychology major at the University of Washington played her alto saxophone to the gospel tune “Total Praise” by Richard Smallwood. There were many spoken word pieces including the standout “My Street” by Miss Black U.S. Virgin Island. A surprise to many observers was Takiyah Nur Amin, Miss Black Virginia, who at 5'1” and in a size 18 is significantly overweight by any standard. She performed, an energetic dance number.

“I've always been big and I've been competing in pageants for 10 years,” says the 27-year old Amin. “Weight is someone else's issue. People make assumptions about a plus-size woman. I am a dancer, I am in good health and maintain my blood pressure. I like to challenge people's ideas about what it is to be beautiful and fit. Pageants are a political space and let me be in your face. It is activism. I may not win but no one will forget me.”

Each contestant was required to develop a “platform”—a cause she believes in and is actively working on. These included math and science literacy for inner city youth, beating domestic violence, breast cancer awareness, HIV/AIDS programs, improving the foster care system, among others.

The other competitions included evening gown and answering tough questions. All the contestants were stunning as they paraded across the stage which was built in a large outdoor area at an adjoining hotel. At the finish, Kalilah Allen-Harris, Miss Black Tennessee, took home the crown. She said she was always fascinated by beauty pageants, even as a little girl. But when she entered her first competition at age 16 and won scholarship money for college as a first runner up, a light bulb went off in her head. “That's when I began to realize the main benefit of these pageants is a way to advance your education.”

Allen-Harris, whose goal is to be an orthopedic surgeon, is in her first year at Meharry Medical School, one of the world's premier historically black institutions of higher learning. At one point, before the contestants left the United States., Allen-Harris had to leave the group to return to school for yearend exams.

“Sometimes I had no clue if I would make it, but I kept God first and would throw myself on the floor and pray. God and time management are the keys. Also the Miss Black Tennessee committee helped prepare me,” she says.

She says the most important lesson she's learned on this, her first trip to The Continent, is that African Americans cannot disconnect themselves from Africa. “It is very important that we embrace our heritage, regardless of how we look, our complexion or hair texture. We need to be aware of the problems of our African brothers and sisters and make sure that they can develop and attain at least a fraction of the opportunity we are afforded in the U.S. We need to come together as a people.”