The Black Miss Americas

I thought it would be a fitting end to Black History Month to highlight the black women who have won the Miss America pageant. These ladies are the epitome of beauty, grace, accomplishment and confidence. They represent not only black women, but all women during their reign and efforts to promote community service. They also exude positive images of black femininity.

MISS AMERICA 1984 VANESSA L. WILLIAMS

VANESSA L. Williams' success in entertainment is so extensive, it's easy to forget that she initially became a household name by becoming the first Black person to win the Miss America pageant. Williams won the 1984 crown when she was a 20-year-old student at Syracuse University, but abruptly resigned after 10 months when controversial photographs of her were printed in a magazine.

Williams overcame the scandal and went on to become probably the best known of all former Miss Americas, Black or White. Her singing credits include three original albums (The Right Stuff, The Comfort Zone and The Sweetest Days) and nine Grammy nominations. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for the single, "Colors of the Wind," off the Pocahontas soundtrack. The 38-year-old star has also received two NAACP Image Awards. As an actress, Williams enjoys critical acclaim for her starring roles in such movies as Soul Food, Eraser and the new version of Shaft. In addition, she has performed numerous theatre and tv roles, currently starring in Ugly Betty.

MISS AMERICA 1984 SUZETTE CHARLES

SUZETTE Charles, representing New Jersey, assumed the crown shortly after Vanessa L. Williams resigned in 1984. (Charles' father is Italian, so she is also the first woman of Italian descent to wear the crown.) She finished out the term and moved on to a successful singing career. Charles, who already had many credits in advertising and educational television, has gone on to a career as a singer, entertainer, and television personality. Charles performed with such artists as Stevie Wonder and Lou Rawls, and appeared in soap operas. Now out of the public eye, Charles is married to Dr. Leonard Bley and has a daughter, Hannah, and son, Ilan, according to the Miss America Organization. The family resides in the New York City area.

MISS AMERICA 1990 DEBBYE TURNER

DEBBYE Turner had one goal in mind when she entered the 1990 Miss America sweepstakes--to win the contest to get scholarship money for her veterinary studies. Representing the state of Missouri, Turner completed her goal and became the third Black Miss America in the pageant's history. It was an experience, Turner says, that she will never forget, as she traveled 20,000 miles per month throughout the country and met celebrities ranging from Oprah Winfrey to the president of the United States. Turner completed her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. She first pursued veterinary medicine before deciding to go into television. Turner's first hosting job came at St. Louis' affiliate, KSDK, and a show called Show Me St. Louis in 1995. Six years later, Turner joined CBS News as a reporter and contributor for The Early Show, a job that she has held since. Debbye is also a fill-in anchor on the CBS Morning News when Michelle Gielan is absent.

MISS AMERICA 1991 MARJORIE VINCENT

MARJORIE Vincent, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, hit the ground running after she was named the 1991 Miss America. It was the first time in history a black winner had been crowned by a black former Miss America. Vincent, who represented Illinois, used the spotlight as Miss America to spread her message about domestic violence.

"For me, it was a thrill to take [the victims'] message to lawmakers in Washington and to state legislatures," Vincent says. "At one appearance, an older man came up to me and said he was really glad I made the point that men could be victims too, because he was one."

Vincent went back to law school at Duke University after her one-year reign. Just before finishing law school in 1994, she became a television news anchor in Meridian, Miss., and later worked at stations in Peoria, Ill., and Columbus, Ohio, for the next six-plus years. She later worked at WHOI-TV in Peoria, Illinois, and the Ohio News Network in Columbus, Ohio, for the next six-plus years. As of September 2007, Vincent is completing her law degree at Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida.

MISS AMERICA 1994 KIMBERLY AIKEN COCKERHAM

WHEN Kimberly Aiken won the 1994 Miss America pageant while representing South Carolina, it set the stage for an eventful year of travel and excitement. However, it was not about to deter Aiken from her true goal.

Aiken says her experience as Miss America opened more avenues than she ever imagined, especially in her crusade for the homeless. "[When I won the pageant], I was an 18-year-old Black woman from South Carolina; I had never traveled around our own country," she says. "Because there is so much prestige with the title, doors open. People listen, and you're really able to get into the hearts and minds of pretty much any group you want to. I had an opportunity to speak on Capitol Hill about homeless issues, and people listened. I had the opportunity to speak to several corporations, to see what they could do to help."

After serving her year as Miss America and graduating from NYU, Aiken worked as an accountant at the prestigious accounting firm of Ernst & Young for a few years before embarking on her next big project--business ownership. She has owned a franchise of Molly Maid, a residential cleaning service, for a year. She is also an image consultant and motivational speaker.

MISS AMERICA 2003 ERIKA HAROLD

Erika Harold spent her year as Miss America 2003 promoting her platform “Preventing Youth Violence and Bullying: ‘Respect Yourself, Protect Yourself.’” Using her experiences as a victim of harassment during the ninth grade as a catalyst, Harold issued a national call to action, urging every segment of society to take a proactive approach in the eradication of these detrimental behaviors. In addition, Harold won acclaim by courageously encouraging young people to embrace the freedom and power to be obtained through abstinence from drugs, sex and alcohol. In 2007, she graduated Harvard University's Law School and as of June 2008 was employed as an associate attorney at Sidley Austin LLP in Chicago, Illinois. Harold is politically conservative, and was the Youth Director for the Republican primary campaign of Illinois gubernatorial candidate Patrick O'Malley. She later served as a delegate to the 2004 Republican National Convention.

MISS AMERICA 2004 ERICKA DUNLAP

After securing another piece of history earlier that year by becoming the first African American woman to be crowned Miss Florida, Ericka Dunlap followed in the steps of the previous winners she had admired since her childhood and was thrust into the national spotlight herself. Dunlap's platform was "United We Stand. Divided We Fall Behind: Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion". Dunlap is currently pursuing a country music career.