Miss USA, Miss Teen USA & Miss America Dish On Groundbreaking Wins

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Miss USA, Miss Teen USA & Miss America Explain Their Achievements On ‘CBS This Morning’

The history-making Black queens of America are ready for their close-ups with their on-camera appearance on CBS This Morning.

For the first time, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, and Miss America are all Black women and the three appeared on CBS to describe their journey and groundbreaking wins:

“It’s symbolic, I think, and it sends a message across the world really that you can be anything you want to be, and there doesn’t have to be just one of us at a time up here,” Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin said on Tuesday. “It can be all. And I think it showcases diversity as well.”

Cheslie Kryst, who won the title of Miss USA last Thursday also added, “It’s also a reminder of how far we have to go.”

She continued:

“I believe when Ursula Burns was no longer the CEO of Xerox, there were no more Black female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and that is an unfortunate statistic to know. So I think this celebration or this landmark should we celebrated, but it’s also a reminder we have a lot to do.”

Kryst currently serves as an attorney in North Carolina who practices civil litigation, and she also represents prisoners in pro-bono work.

Miss Teen USA Kaliegh Garris, who ignored advice and proudly showcased her natural curls during the competition, also explained how representation matters:

“I have all these influencers that I look up to on social media. Now I’m getting messages from moms of biracial kids, and kids themselves that are biracial. And girls that are scared to wear their hair naturally, and them saying that I have been a big influence in their lives and that they’re going to start wearing their hair naturally or that they’re more proud to just be themselves. It fills my heart with joy,” Garris said.

Garris explained how she used to always straighten her hair for pageants:

“It’s just kind of what I did. I looked up to my mom a lot, and she had straight blond hair. I really wanted to embody the same characteristics and I thought I had to do that physically. But as I grew up, I realized I can do that while being myself and still be powerful,” she said.

You can watch more of what the icons had to say in the clip below!