Miss Black Sacramento pageants spark delight -- and some doubts
Posted by Ed Fletcher - The Sacramento Bee on May 6, 2009, 07:24
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Thirty-eight years ago, Velma Stokley-Flournoy decided if mainstream America wasn't going to recognize black beauty, then African Americans needed contests where brown skin, full lips and round hips were appreciated.
So in 1970, she created the Miss Black Sacramento pageant. "I saw a pageant on television and there weren't any blacks involved," she said.
Tonight, a new Miss Black Sacramento and new Miss Black Teen Sacramento will be crowned. Later this month, a young woman will be crowned Miss Asia Sacramento.
Since 1984, six women of African descent have been named Miss America, and African Americans have assumed prominent roles in the television, film, sports and political worlds.
One may ask whether pageants like Miss Black Sacramento still have a role in society. The answer doesn't break evenly along the color line.
Ward Connerly, an African American crusader against government set-asides that are based on race, said he's long been against separate programs or events that aren't necessitated by a language barrier.
"We are not divided by language. We have the same culture, for the most part," Connerly said of black Americans.
Races and ethnic groups should strive to be part of the American melting pot, not celebrate a sideline existence, he said.
"Those events really need to go by the wayside," Connerly said. "I guarantee you there will be people who will say, 'What if we had a white pageant.' "
Janet Shan, a Jamaican-born conservative blogger, recently questioned the existence of the Miss Black New Jersey pageant.
"I really don't think in 2009 we need a black miss anything or a white miss anything," she told The Bee.
She stopped short of saying America is now "post-racial," but said the obstacles that still exist can be overcome.
"There are pockets of racism in this country, but that is not enough to hold us back. We are not in the Jim Crow days," Shan said.
People shouldn't over-interpret the elections of President Barack Obama or Mayor Kevin Johnson, cautioned James Shelby, president of the Greater Sacramento Urban League.
"The world hasn't changed because we have a black president. Does Kevin's election mean all the problems in the African American community have gone away?" Shelby asked.
He pointed out there are only two sitting governors and one U.S. senator of African descent, only one of which was elected to his post.
There was a time when racial slurs could be heard at mainstream pageant events, but those days are gone, said Robert Arnhym, who runs the Miss California pageant, which leads to the Miss America pageant.
"I really don't think that there is any vestige of prejudice left in this program," said Arnhym. He credited his daughter's generation with pushing his own out of such close-minded ways.
Since Simone Stephens became the first African American to represent California in the Miss America pageant in 1987, women of Latin, Asian and African descent have all worn the Miss California tiara.
"From the standpoint of do they need to have their own (pageant) in order to get a title, the answer is no," Arnhym said. He said they've worked hard to ensure anyone who wants to compete can afford it.
But from a cultural standpoint, Arnhym didn't have a problem with minority groups hosting their own pageants.
From as early as 1924, African American beauties, with the backing of civil-rights groups, worked to integrate the major national pageants.
"For many African Americans, beauty contests in which white women competed were the real contests. Compared to the Miss America pageant, whose early by-laws barred black women, black contests seemed to be mere imitations," wrote Maxine Craig in her book "Ain't I a Beauty Queen: Black women, beauty, and the politics of race."
"Just as African Americans organized to fight racial exclusion at the lunch counters, on public transportation, and in workplaces, African American women began to challenge the color line in beauty contests," wrote Craig, a women's studies professor at the University of California, Davis.
In 1965, Sarah Peer, by virtue of her winning the Miss Rochester (N.Y.) title, became the first African American with a shot at claiming the Miss America crown.
In 1983, Vanessa Williams became the first African American title-holder. (She resigned 10 months later after nude photos of her were published in Penthouse magazine.)
Among the thousands of beauty pageants across the country, scores cater to specific ethnic groups. Miss Black Sacramento, Miss Black California, Miss Black America, Miss Latina California, Miss Latina, Miss Asia Sacramento, and Miss Asian America are just a few.
Many others are organized around events; only a select few feed into the national Miss America or Miss USA pageants.
There is still a place for Miss Black Sacramento said Angel Stewart, one of the co-directors, and granddaughter of Stokley-Flournoy. Stewart wore the Miss Black Sacramento crown in 1987.
While blacks can compete and win mainstream pageants, not everyone can, Stewart said.
The pageant, which long ago dumped the swimsuit competition and offers more points for talent than beauty, rewards the winner with scholarship money and teaches girls to be ladies, organizers said.
In the months before the young ladies take the stage, they meet every Saturday for workshops to refine their skills: walking gracefully, giving interviews, public speaking.
On April 25, the eight competing in Miss Black Teen Sacramento and the eight in the adult competition sat down to learn dining etiquette – starting with how to set a formal table.
The question of whether the show should go on in the age of Obama and Oprah Winfrey isn't lost on Stewart and Stokley-Flournoy.
Stewart said they've recently had the conversation internally. Stokley-Flournoy said as long as there is a desire among young women to compete, she sees no reason to end the event.
IF YOU GO
Miss Black Sacramento What: 39th Annual Miss Black Sacramento Scholarship Pageant
Where: Grand Ballroom, University Union, Sacramento State campus
When: 5 p.m. today
Admission: $20
Details: www.missblacksacramento.org
Miss Asia Sacramento
What: 2nd Annual Miss Asia Sacramento Pageant
Where: Radisson Hotel, 500 Leisure Lane
When: 6:30 p.m. May 24
Admission: $20 in advance, $25 at the door
Info: www.missasiasacramento.com
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