Q: How come in a “chocolate city” like DC (apologies to George Clinton), African-American contestants were outnumbered 3:1?
A: Most of them likely came here to try for the Ms. DC crown because they thought it would be easier to win than their own state pageant.
Note: How do I know pageant contestants do this? Ms. America 1990, Debbye Turner, told me in an interview that year that she moved to Missouri to participate in Missouri’s pageant after being runner up in her native state. It was her victory there that qualified her for the Ms. American Pageant, which she won.
Another reason I believe that most of the DC contestants aren’t really from here is that most of them could not answer any questions about DC that were related to their “platforms.” One contestant was asked about a DC institution, musical group, performance group etc which inspired her. Her answer: The Kennedy Center. How completely trite, and it doesn’t even require any knowledge of DC to say that. There are a million things she could have said including HR 57 – the Center for the Preservation of Jazz and Blues – after all, she claimed to be influenced by Jazz and blues in her interview and her talent was vocals.
I’m very pleased that the girl who won, Shayna Rudd, obviously was was familiar with DC and beat the others.
The pro-life contestant, Ashley Ahlquist, came across as borderline racist. Her platform “Providing Positive Solutions for Crisis Pregnancies” basically boils down to tricking poor women who want an abortion into entering a center where she will be lectured to and threatened with eternal damnation. Regardless, her question was along the lines of “How would you make DC safer for women?” Her answer: “I would increase police presence in certain areas” and used the phrase “certain areas” two other times in relation to how more police in “certain areas” would reduce crime. I wonder to which areas this Catholic University student was referring? Hmm. Anyone else care to hazard a guess?
On to the review:
The audience was composed primarily of contestant's family members and supporters, and had a surprisingly low number of drag queens in attendance Though one did seem to have more than a passing acquaintance with the outgoing Miss DC. (Oh for the good old days of Zigfield’s).
I have only this to say about the rest of the interviews: those girls need to learn better grammar, and it would be nice if they bothered to learn a thing or two about our fair city beyond the typical crap any tourist could tell you. (I know, it’s ironic because I sometimes use bad grammar, but my excuse is drunken blogging, not that I don’t know better).
The talent portion was surprisingly trite (including a Mariah Carey song and “All that Jazz” from Chicago) until one of the contestants sang a Porgy & Bess song.
In the Miss Teen DC Pageant, the dramatic readings were powerful. And all of the girls had great poise and posture throughout the show, and the little Princesses (girls 4-12) were of course adorable.
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I am a bit weary of these pageants.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that people who are "visiting" are allowed to compete for a local title? Most people who come to Washington, DC do not know a thing about it, besides its political significance and general facts that can be found in a tourist's guidebook. College students are included. I have encountered people who have willingly chosen to come to D.C. to milk its resources (professional, educational, etc), yet have a disdain, fear, and disregard for this wonderful city. Many contestants in this pageant are, as you say, just seeking a crown that they find easily attainable in a less competitive pageant arena. YES, it is painfully obvious that most of the contestants aren't from here and it makes my blood boil. One semester of school as a qualifier doesn't cut it. I am glad that the young lady who won is an African American and a Howard grad, but eventually I would like to see someone who actually hails from DC to represent it. Shayna is not originally from DC. DC is full of potential, beauty and talent which rests within its NATIVE residents. I feel that natives would reflect a more well-rounded candidate for the Miss DC crown. This is not the first time a Howard student has won the Miss DC crown either. Shauntay Hinton won in 2002 and went on to seize the Miss USA title. The same should go for pageants that are held in other locales. I would want Miss DC to be from DC and say, Ms. California to be from California.
I understand your desire for a girl to represent her area, but I think you are missing the point of the Miss America system. I contestant must live, work, or go to school in the state for only 6 months before she is eligible to compete in that state. This is only to help girls who choose to attend college or find careers outside of the state where THEIR PARENTS choose to live. This is a scholarship competition, as well as a beauty pageant. Why should a girl be forced to reside, and thus compete, in a state where she does not feel at home. If a girl chose to work or attend a university in the District, shouldn't we be happy that she is a voluntary representative?
ReplyDeleteAlso, you can't win a pageant if you don't enter. We can't be upset by a lack of african american contestants (or to that point, Native DC residents) if these girls do not choose to enter a pageant that is a great opportunity for them to showcase their city and support their community.
I say we let the people who want to be ambassadors have the opportunity to do it, and stop bashing people for loving our city and wanting to come here - nomatter the reason.