Tradition Continues....

This morning I signed on to Facebook and much to my surprise, the first thing I saw was a photo and brief caption about two of my favorite Miss Americas!!!!!  Miss America 1984, actress, singer and businesswoman Vanessa L. Williams with the reigining Miss America 2010, the talented Caressa Cameron.  Who was the genius that captured THIS photo op?

The two beauties were photographed while Caressa attended the MAGIC Clothing Industry Convention in Las Vegas, NV.  Ms. Williams has just introduced a line of handbags that are sure to make waves throughout the fashion world.

This picture is iconic for me as Ms. Williams was the first African-American Miss America (or black as we were referenced back then), while Miss Cameron has almost single-handedly revived the Miss America franchise and thrust the organization back into the public eye.  It was announced late in the spring, that after loosing its spot on network television, the pageant will return to ABC for the 2011 pageant.  According to the Today show, "the night Caressa won, the pageant was watched by 4.5 million viewers".  

Coincidentally, as with many of the MAO winners, both women competed with a vocal talent and won the preliminary award in that category.   While Vanessa went on to have a thriving performing arts career following her reign, Caressa hopes to succeed as a news anchor/broadcast journalist.  However, there is a chance that her performance on Jamie Fox's radio show during the Superbowl, may have some thinking a performing arts career may be in the works for her!  

No matter what Caressa decides to do, it's evident that the Miss America tradition of beauty and excellence continues.  Thank you Caressa for propelling the Miss America Organization back into the limelight and thanks zimbio.com for starting off my morning with two of my favorites "pageant queens".

Now the countdown begins as I wait to see Miss America 1984 move onto Wisteria Lane!!!!!!

Red, White, Blue.............and Black

Congratulations are in order for Osas Ighodaro.   This Connecticut beauty was recently crowned the new Miss Black USA 2010 !!!!  

The 2010 pageant was held at the historic Lincoln Theater on U Street NW, otherwise known as Black Broadway, in Washington, DC on Monday, August 9th.   Throughout the week, 33 beautiful and talented women competed in personal interview, physical fitness, talent, evening gown and question/answer divisions.  A slate of 15 finalists and ultimately a top 5 was presented to the audience prior to the announcement of the new Miss Black USA.

The Miss Black USA Pageant, according to its website, is a non-profit organization committed to providing educational opportunities to outstanding young women of color and to develop the "whole woman mind, body, and spirit.  Founded in 1986, the pageant recently partnered with Dr. Ian Smith and the 50 million Pound Challenge to help fight obesity in the African -American Community.

Osas, a talented actress, is a graduate of Penn State University possessing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism.  She is currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts degree at Pace University's Actors Studio Drama School.    As a first generation American of her Nigerian family, her acting talents have already been exhibited in such films as "Cadillac Records", "Notorious" and "My African Uncle", I won't be surprised to see Osas in a motion picture feature role any time soon.  She's also graced the small screen with roles in such series as "Law & Order" and "Conviction".
 

Her talent in this year's competition was a monologue and her platform was "Youth Development through the Arts, Education& Culture: Empowering, Enriching, Enlightening & Encouraging our light of the future - Our Youth!  As Miss Black USA 2010, she will spend the next year promoting her platform, issues of awareness and the Miss Black USA organization throughout the country. You can see an clip of Osas discussing her recent win in DC here.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to judge the Miss Black North Carolina USA pageant and it was a wonderful experience.  It is such a pleasure to see such talented and intelligent women competing so vigorously.  I am glad to see the tradition and excellent caliber of women has continued.