JadeThaiCatwalk/iStock(NEW YORK) — For the first time ever, the crowns in five major beauty pageants — Miss Universe, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss America and now, Miss World — are all held by black women.
On Saturday evening, 23-year-old Toni-Ann Singh from Jamaica was crowned Miss World 2019 and joined the growing group of black women making history as reigning winners of major pageants.
“I was shocked,” said Singh in an interview after her win. “I had to take a moment to say, ‘They said Jamaica, they said Jamaica, so that means you and that means get out there!'”
Singh’s win comes less than a week after 26-year-old Zozibini Tunzi from South Africa was crowned the winner of Miss Universe 2019.
“I think it’s such a great move forward as … the world and as a society say, ‘Look, women who were in the past never had opportunities to do things like this are now here,'” Tunzi told ABC News’ Linsey Davis in an interview that aired Friday on Good Morning America.
In an exclusive interview prior to Singh’s win, with three of the four pageant winners, Tunzi, joined by Kaliegh Garris, Miss Teen USA 2019, and Cheslie Kryst, Miss USA 2019, spoke about what it means for all of them to represent other black women and pave the way for women of color across the world.
Nia Franklin also won the Miss America pageant last year.
For decades, a moment like this was not possible. In its first 30 years, black women weren’t even allowed to compete in the Miss America pageant.
“I think there are times where I am disappointed, because people will sometimes comment on our social media,” said Kryst. “And they’ll say, ‘Why are we talking about your race? Like, you guys are just four amazing women.’ Like, yes, we’re four amazing women, but there was a time when we literally could not win.”
Now, as role models, all four women have become an inspiration to other girls who want to follow in their footsteps.
“If someone says finally, ‘Oh my God, you’re so beautiful. You look like Miss USA,’ they can finally actually believe that they are as beautiful as Miss USA,” said Tunzi. “Just from mothers who say, ‘My 4-year-old daughter was so excited to see you on stage. And she kept on screaming, ‘You look like me. She looks like me.’ And I think … it’s breaking those boundaries.”
Tunzi, who has been faced with the pressure from others to change her hair during the course of the competition, said she wanted to challenge how people have perceived beauty in the pageant.
“This hair can be beautiful, too, because it’s how I was born to look. I did get pressures, too, but I didn’t want to fall into that pressure. I wanted to look like this 100 percent,” Tunzi said.
On social media, all four women have received praise for how they’re using their new platforms to inspire other women of color.
Oprah Winfrey retweeted Tunzi’s “final word.”
“We should be teaching these young girls to take up space,” the tweet, which went viral, read.
Upon the announcement that the winners of the four competitions were all black, former first lady Michelle Obama retweeted a post of them, with the hashtag “Black Girl Magic.”