Miss Juneteenth isn't just a movie. State and local pageants celebrate Black history and beauty
- States including Tennessee, Florida, and Delaware have held Miss Juneteenth pageants for years.
- Pageants are scholarship-driven and center community service, education, and Black history.
- The first National Miss Juneteenth Pageant was hosted in Memphis, Tennessee last year.
For Black communities across the country, a Juneteenth celebration isn't complete without a Miss Juneteenth pageant.
African Americans all across the US congregate annually to commemorate the end of slavery on June 19 - better known as Juneteenth - with cookouts, parades, and in some cities and states, pageants.
In 2020, when the world was enthralled in the nationwide and global Black Lives Matter protests after the killing of George Floyd, and Juneteenth became a mainstream topic of conversation, the US was introduced to "Miss Juneteenth" the movie by director and writer, Channing Godfrey Peoples.
"Miss Juneteenth" is about a single mother (played by Nicole Beharie), a former Miss Juneteenth who squandered her opportunities, and is now working tirelessly to ensure her own daughter (played by Alexis Chikaeze)is able to participate in the pageant to earn a scholarship and further her studies.
What came as a surprise to many viewers is that the Miss Juneteenth pageant is a real competition. Officially called the Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant, or Miss Juneteenth FTW, it's Fort Worth, Texas headquarters is where producers found source material for the movie.
Like many young African American girls growing up on Black beauty, Peoples grew up attending the local pageant.
There are five in Texas alone, including Houston, San Antonio, Tri-County. Running since 1976, Fort Worth's is one of the earliest Miss Juneteenth pageants in the US while Austin's has been running for nearlhy 50 years.
The current director of the Miss Juneteenth FTW pageant, Andrea Sledge, the pageant's current director told Insider the pageant holds important significance as a conduit for children of color to learn their rich history.
"They need to understand the obstacles their ancestors went through to pave the way for them to be free," she told Insider via email. "The Juneteenth Pageant gives us an opportunity to celebrate Black Excellence at its finest all while teaching the importance of Juneteenth so that the legacy of Juneteenth is never lost."
But Texas isn't the only state that hosts Miss Juneteenth pageants.
States including Tennessee, Florida, Nevada, and Delaware and more have hosted Miss Juneteenth competitions annually for decades, but the starkly different from traditional pageants Americans watch on television.
The Miss Juneteenth pageants are not beauty pageants
Unlike mainstream American pageants, Black competitions are usually "a visual component of freedom." According to Kimberly Pellum, author of "Black Beauties: African American Pageant Queens in the Segregated South," the ceremonies serve as a way for African Americans publicly craft their own narrative.
"Miss Juneteenth pageants are emblematic of the rich tradition of Black public assertion and adornment," the history professor told Insider. "It is "central to the African American practice of celebration, image-making, and cultural expression."
The pageants are also scholarship-driven, with events that center around community service, education, and Black history.
The pageants usually consist of essay writing and community service alongside with talent, evening wear, and a question-and-answer sections on pageant night.
Helping young Black women further their education is the cornerstone of these pageants, making the scholarship prize crucial for participating families. Sandy Clark, pageant director of the Delaware Miss Juneteenth pageant, told Inisder their candidates begin training six months in advance.
"We decided to start working with these young ladies six months before the pageant, teaching them, having activities for their parents also," said Clark. "We will take them on trips teaching them about their history, teaching them about poise and etiquette, public speaking, and essay writing."
The Miss Juneteenth title holder serves as an ambassador who brings attention to the cultural and historical significance of the holiday.
While only three young women were able to participate as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first National Miss Juneteenth Pageant was hosted in Memphis, Tennessee last year by the National Juneteenth Observance Foundation.
Miss Juneteenth serves as an educational platform about the holiday
"I only knew the basics of black history, but I didn't know what led up to everything and Juneteenth is the core of what led up to where we are now," said the inaugural winner told Insider.
The 18-year-old added she knew nothing about Juneteenth prior to hearing about the pageant in Delaware. After sitting in on the orientation, Gray said he new information changed her perspective about her life in the US.
"I felt different because I didn't know and it was a history that I was missing," she told Insider. "I was glad I had a chance to learn what Juneteenth is and I got a chance to learn about my history and what my ancestors went through."
Unlike other pageants, Gay said Miss Juneteenth is an important part of the commemorating the holiday because it's representing the "women of Juneteenth."
Compared to televised competitions like the Miss America or Miss Universe pageants, Gay said her title celebreated the "women of Juneteenth," honoring not just African American history, but her culture and ancestry. family.
"Juneteenth is me!"
National Miss Juneteenth dream for a federal holiday realized
Prior to President Joe Biden signing legislation into law this week, there had been campaigns to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. The National Juneteenth Observance Foundation had been campaigning for for years.
Now that their hard work has paid off, Clark and Sylvia Harris, the National Miss Juneteenth pageant director, believe that becoming America's newest federal holiday may create more visibility for the Miss Juneteenth pageants - both local and national.
But organizers are already looking to 2022. The next National Miss Juneteenth Pageant will take place in Tulsa, Oklahoma in October where Harris said the young women will be touring the historical sites.
She told Insider with Juneteenth increased recognition "they will get to not only see a piece of history but be a piece of history."