HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – The Miss Black Mississippi USA pageant kicked off at the University of Southern Mississippi on Monday.
The pageant was held in the Joe Paul Student Theatre in the Thad Cochran Building on USM’s Hattiesburg campus.
Twenty contestants from all over the state competed for various titles.
One participant said she decided to do the pageant because it helped her gain confidence.
“Well, I’ve never been in a pageant before, and I wanted to get into it to break my confidence, and I saw this when I was looking them up,” said Teen Ranking County Samantha Morrow. “I was like this is the one for me this can showcase my beauty as a black woman and I wanted to do that.”
Sister pageant queen Tiffany Henderson said she is glad to be a part of a strong community. Henderson holds the current title for Miss Mississippi Plus America.
“We always want to encourage each individual girl to get out in their community, support one another, and show them how we’re able to stand strong serve and be there for the world, the community,” said Henderson.
Morrow said she felt the sense of community the pageant brings.
“I thought it was going to be a lot harder than it is,” Morrow said. “I thought the people were going to be a lot meaner but all the girls, everybody is so sweet and you know being the youngest here because the teens are the youngest, you would think the older women wouldn’t help us as much but they’re just like a bunch of moms. Everything is great.”
The pageant was held from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
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