Black Beauty Reigns Over Us All

2019 has been been a historic year in the pageant world, and one we won't forget for a long time.

In 2019 all six of the major pageants, Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, Miss America, Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International Queen all crowned Black women as their pageant royalty

The Miss International Queen one based in Thailand is a pageant for transgender women.  Harvey was its first ever African descended winner in their 15 year history.

So congrats to Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa,  Miss World 2019 Toni- Ann Singh of Jamaica, Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst, Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin, Miss Teen USA 2019 Kaleigh Garris and Miss International Queen 2019 Jazell Harvey

And two of the women won with natural hair styles in Miss Universe and Miss Tenn USA.

Congrats to all these Black women who have made this a historic year in pageantry and one that has been a long time in coming.

It also drives home the point that Black women are indeed beautiful in all their marvelous shades.

Iconic Actress Diahann Carroll Joins The Ancestors

I was saddened to hear the news that iconic actress Diahann Carroll has joined the ancestors at age 84 after losing her battle with breast cancer..

Carroll was a trailblazer in the acting world, and her big break came when she was just 18 years old.

She appeared on the TV show Chance of a Lifetime, and won the top prize of $1000.  She won for four consecutive weeks, and the show led to engagements at the Cafe Society and Latin Quarter nightclubs in Manhattan.    Carroll was in the movie Carmen Jones playing the best friend to Dorothy Dandridge's  Carmen.

She became the first Black actress to win a Tony Award in 1962 for her role in the play No Strings. 

In 1968 she became the first Black actress to star in a hit TV show in a non stereotypical role when Julia debuted on NBC and ran for three season on that network.   She won a Golden Globe award in 1969 for that role and was also the first Black actress nominated for a comedic-lead Emmy

In 1974 she was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the movie Claudine.

In 1984 she joined the cast of Dynasty, playing Dominique Deveraux, the half sister of Blake Carrington and nemesis of Alexis Colby Carrington.  Her Music and Arts HS classmate, Billy Dee Williams, played her husband ex husband Brady on that show



A few years later she played Marion Gilbert, the mother of Whitley Gilbert in a recurring role on the NBC show A Different World in which she received a third Emmy nomination in 1989. 



She was not only a trailblazer for many people in Black Hollywood and Broadway, the native New Yorker was also revered by many as the epitome of style, grace and class.   I and many Black trans women of my generation considered her as one of our feminine role models.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997 and beat it after nine weeks of radiation treatments .  That led her to become a spokesperson urging early detection and treatment for cancer.

Diahann Carroll's place in history is secure, and we will miss her as she joins the ancestors.   But hers was a trailblazing life well lived, and she paved the way for our current generation of actors on the stage and silver screen to soar.

And she looked damned good doing it. 

Rest in power and peace Queen.   You've earned it.

Correction: Four Black Women Have Won Major Beauty Pageants In 2019

Been seeing the memes out there that have proudly pointed out that with only the Miss Universe pageant left to be conducted,  Black women in the US have won in succession the Miss Teen USA, Miss America and the Miss USA Universe pageants for the first time ever in the same calendar year.

Major props to 2019 Miss Teen USA winner Kaleigh Garris, Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin and Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst for doing so.   They are all accomplished women and I'm exceedingly proud of all of them snatching crowns in the same calendar year.

Even more impressive, Miss Teen USA Kaleigh Garris did so while rocking a natural hair style.

But people are forgetting the fourth Black woman who also made history by winning a major beauty pageant title this year, and she did so back in March.

Jazell Barbie Royale became the first Black women to ever win the Miss International Queen trans pageant in Thailand.  Her accomplishment was just as historic as the pother women being celebrated, but once again when it comes to Black Trans excellence, the Black community sadly is ignoring it.

Let me repeat for y'all that Black trans women ARE Black women.   When we rise and excel at doing whatever we accomplish, so does the entire Black community.

So what if the Miss International Queen is a pageant for trans women?   No Black woman from the African Diaspora had ever won that pageant in its fifteen year history until this year, and it had been 2005 since the last American woman had won it.

So yes, I would like to see it acknowledged that FOUR Black women have won major pageant titles in the same year.   If no one else will acknowledge that fact, I damned sure will. 

Serena Wins The AP Female Athlete of the Year For 5th Time!

She nearly died  after giving birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia on September 1 ,2017, and had to have four surgeries for life threatening blood clots.

But there she was in May, standing majestically in a black catsuit at the French Open and playing in her first Grand Slam tournament since she won the 2017 Australian Open in her usual dominating fashion while 24 weeks pregnant. 

She made it through three rounds at Roland Garros before she had to withdraw due to a pectoral muscle injury.   Williams made it to the Wimbledon and US Open finals but fell just short of capturing her 24th Grand Slam title.

Along the way she continues to exposes the ugly underbelly of racism and misogynoir that keeps getting aimed at her by the champagne swilling tennis powers that be.

And that racist BS is why I'm ride or die for Serena and big sis Venus.

While she hasn't passed that homophobic twit Margaret Court yet for all time Grand Slam wins, at age 37, what Serena did do in this un-Serena like year on the court is remarkable in itself.   She returned to playing near championship level tennis mere months after having a child, which was miraculous in itself.

Superhero and #BlackGirlMagic personified.

Williams was named the AP Female Athlete of the year for the fifth time . 

World champion gymnast and Houston homegirl Simone Biles, who had a historic year herself,  finished second.  Notre Dame basketballer Arike Ogunbowale, who hit game winning shots in the 2018 NCAA tournament semis over mighty UConn and in the national championship game over Mississippi State to help the Fighting Irish win its second a national championship,was third in the voting.   Snowboarder Chloe Kim and swimmer Katie Ledecky, the 2017 winner, completed the top five vote getters.

Williams is one  win away from tying the legendary Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who won the award six times.   She previously won the AP Female Athlete of the Year Award in 2002, 2009, 2013 and 2015 in large part for absolute domination of her tennis competition.

This award was more for persevering through a personally challenging year for her.

Hope she returns to tennis dominance in 2019, starting at the Australian Open in a few weeks. 

Miss America 2019 Says Trans Women Should Be Allowed To Compete

Today was the day 35 years ago that Vanessa Williams, who repped New York state, was crowned as the first ever Black Miss America back in 1983.

The 92nd annual competition took place in Atlantic City, NJ on September 9.  This year's newly crowned Miss America, like the trailblazing Williams, is also a Black woman repping New York state in 25 year old Nia Imani Franklin.

Franklin is the ninth Black woman to wear the Miss America crown, and she was recently asked her thoughts during a The Clay Cane Show interview concerning whether trans feminine contestants should be allowed to compete for the Miss America title.

Y'all know what my thoughts are concerning that question.   Here's what Ms. Franklin had to say about it:

"That’s something I haven’t given a lot of thought to. I could see the organization may be going into a different direction in the future, but at this time our goal is just to focus on women who want to further their education.” 

She continued, “If trans women want to compete I think they should be able to — that’s not something I think we are really putting too much emphasis on as far as, ‘Are you trans? Check this box’ when you compete. When I competed, in my application, there was nothing that asked me if I was a trans woman or not, so we’re definitely not discriminating.”

Yes, you are when the pageant has a rule that states only 'natural born women', whatever in the hell that means, can compete in the Miss America system.  

The Miss Universe system has had since 2012 allowed trans women to compete, and later this year in Bangkok we will finally witness a trans woman competing for the Miss Universe crown in Spain's Angela Ponce. 

But the 98 year old Miss America system, despite moves to modernize the pageant and make it more relevant to 21st century life, like ditching the swimsuit competition for a current events Q&A, still bans trans women from competing.

But glad to hear the current Miss America titleholder thinks trans women who fit the pageant's eligibility requirements should be allowed to compete for this prestigious crown.

And I hope that change happens sooner rather than later.

Introducing The Duke and Duchess of Sussex!

Back in 1981, I got up before the crack of dawn to watch the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. 

Overslept this morning, and wish I hadn't for the wedding of Prince Harry and our sis Meghan Markle aka the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at St. George's Chapel.

As to why this is a BFD, anytime a sister gets married to a British royal for the first time since the 18th century, it is to the point that even ESSENCE magazine was covering it. 

And yes, Meghan's mom was slaying.

In case you're wondering, the last Black woman to marry into the British royal family was Queen Charlotte to King George III, and historians are still arguing about just how Black Charlotte was.

Queen Charlotte BTW, is who the city of Charlotte, NC was named after. 

Here's the full video of it for those of you who slept through it like I did



Interestingly enough, they are only the second royal couple to ever have the title, and the original Duke of Sussex campaigned for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire

But because King George III didn't approve of the Duke's two marriages and ruled them unlawful, that meant the Duke's two children weren't in the line of succession to the throne. 

All that to say that  when Markle said, "I do", she will officially become the first ever Duchess of Sussex.

Back to the wedding.  The sermon from the Most Reverend Michael Curry just before the Duke and Duchess said their vows to each other was all that and ten bags of chips. 

It quoted the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr  in talking about the redemptive power of love

     

Curry is the first Black leader of the American Episcopal Church and an avid campaigner for social justice  and racial equality.  Reverend Curry basically gave the world a taste of what it's like to go to a Black church.

Congrats to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex!   Going to interesting to watch their marital journey from this side of The Pond. .

Erin Jackson Is Going To The Olympics!

24 year old Erin Jackson has only been participating in long track speed skating full time for four months.   Coming into the US Olympic Speed Skating Trials in West Allis, WI she had posted a personal best 39.51 time in the 500m back on December 23 in Salt Lake City.

But the former University of Florida engineering student and inline skater from Ocala, FL picked a great time to set new personal best times, and did so when the pressure was highest.

"I really wasn't expecting any of this, just coming in as a newbie, just trying to do the best I can. " said Jackson. "A couple of weeks ago I was still in the 40's.  So this has all happened pretty fast."

The best she can is going to take her to Pyeongchang, South Korea and the Winter Olympics.

She went 39.22 in her first heat during the Trials Friday night, and even faster in her second heat at 39.04 to become the first Black female athlete ever to qualify for a US Olympic long track speed skating team.

Jackson finished third in the 500m, behind her Ocala, FL homegirl Brittany Bowe and Heather Bergsma to punch her ticket to Pyeongchang.

February 8 and the start of the upcoming Winter Games is getting more interesting by the day with all this Black Girl Magic happening.

Nigerian Women Bobsledders Make Olympic History

The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea will start on February 9, and the sports junkie I am will definitely be tuned into the action from that date until they conclude on February 25.

Hopefully Kim Jong Fool Un will behave himself while the world's athletes are on the other side of the DMZ from North Korea  .

As has been proven in the United States, track athletes have been majorly successful in crossing over and reinvigorating the US bobsled program.   Vonetta Flowers earned a gold medal in the two woman bobsled competition in Salt Lake City in 2002,  and the 2014 Sochi bobsled team was composed of five Black women including Summer Olympic gold medalist Lauryn Williams and Lolo Jones 

Now in a shades of Cool Runnings Jamaican bobsled team story,  three US based Nigerian women track athletes have made history by being the first continental African team to qualify a sled in the Winter Olympics.

Driver and team captain Seun Adigun and brakewomen Akuoma Omeoga and Ngozi Onwumere are also the first Nigerians to ever qualify for the Winter Olympics, and did much of it on their own. 

Adigun competed as a sprinter for Nigeria at the 2012 Summer Games in London and got the idea to compete in the Winter Games while watching on television the success the 2014 USA women's bobsled team had in Sochi powered largely by US track athletes

She convinced fellow US based track athletes Omeoga and Onwumere to join her, and Adigun built a wooden sled for the trio to practice with they dubbed 'the Mayflower' until they could purchase a bobsled.   Adigun raised $75,000, including $50,000 from a single anonymous donor of a stated goal of $150,000/ 

That was enough to get attention and support from the Nigerian Olympic Committee, for a Nigerian Bobsled and Skeleton Federation to form and for the trio to get a chance to practice on ice. They have since that time obtained corporate sponsorships from Under Armour and Visa

To qualify, the trio had to drive their sled through five runs on three different bobsled tracks in Utah, and at Whistler and Calgary which they successfully completed in November by finishing fifth.

This is a huge milestone for sports in Nigeria," Adigun told ESPN. "Nothing makes me prouder than to know that I can play a small role in creating opportunities for winter sports to take place in Nigeria." 

"Our objective now is to be the best representation of Africa that the Winter Olympics has ever witnessed," said Adigun.

“I commend the personal dedication and commitment of these women,” Nigerian Bobsled and Skeleton Federation President Solomon Ogba told ESPN. “Their hard work was inspiring, and I hope Nigerians can appreciate what it took for them to achieve this — the work, the discipline and the personal sacrifices. They were amazing throughout this journey.” 

While continental African athletes have competed in the Winter Games, as of yet none has stood on a medal podium,

We'll see in a few weeks if this story has a happy ending and ends up at a multiplex near you.

Brienne Minor Wins Historic 2017 NCAA Women's Singles Tennis Title

Black history was made on May 29 at the recent NCAA Division I women's tennis championships that were conducted at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. GA.

University of Michigan sophomore Brienne Minor became the first African-American woman ever to win the NCAA Division I women's tennis title   In case you're wondering, the first African-American man to win an NCAA men's singles tennis title was the legendary Arthur Ashe in 1965.

She was the 2014 Illinois state girls singles champion, but in this NCAA women's singles tournament, she was ranked 24th in the nation, and also played with her Michigan teammates in the NCAA Division I team tennis championships that started in Athens back on May 18.   .

Michigan advanced to the Round of 16, beating Youngstown State and Kentucky before being eliminated by national finalist runner-up Stanford.

When the NCAA women's singles tourney started on May 24, the unseeded Minor faced the task of having to win six matches in six days to get to the finals of the 2017 NCAA women's tourney while battling tendinitis in her knees.

Minor was also in the section of the bracket that contained the number one seed Francesca Di Lorenzo of Ohio State.and was facing in the opening round the woman who ended her 2016 NCAA women's tournament run in Miami's Sinead Lohan.

It took her three sets, but she beat Lohan 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to jumpstart her title run. Di Lorenzo was surprisingly upset in the opening round by Pepperdine's Mayar Sharif Ahmad, and Minor knocked her off in straight sets in the Round of 16 on her way to the finals .

Minor would face Florida senior and tournament sixth seed Belinda Woolcock  The Aussie was playing her last match as a Gator and had only dropped one set on her way to the championship finals.  She also wanted to add the NCAA women's singles title to the 2017 NCAA team tennis championship she played a huge role in Florida winning over Stanford.

Woolcock played 14 singles and doubles matches over the eleven days of the NCAA Division I tourney with an 11-1 record to help Florida win the NCAA team championship, was named the Most Valuable Player in the NCAA team tournament, and made the all Tournament team in singles and doubles.

But it was Brienne Minor's day and she was on an eight match tournament winning streak at this point. With her family cheering her on, Minor made the admittedly tired Woolcock run all over the court as she raced out to a 4-0 first set lead before Woolcock broke her serve to finally get on the first set scoreboard.

Woolcock gave the service break back to stoke Minor to a 5-1 first set lead and won the next two games to close to 5-3, but dropped her service game to give Minor a one set lead in this NCAA title match.

Minor held serve to begin the second set and jumped out to a 3-1 and 4-2 lead before Woolcock made one last push and closed to 4-3 by blanking Minor with a love service game.   But Minor stormed back by winning the next two to take the set and the 2017 NCAA women's championship in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.

Minor knocked off three players ranked in the top 16 in the nation to earn this historic title, and not only gave Michigan their first ever NCAA women's singles tennis national champion, she made some Black history in the process.

With the win she also earned a wild card entry into the 2017 US Open that begins on August 28

2017 Williams Watch- Venus Rising

Since Little Sis announced that she was pregnant, and won the 2017 Australian Open title while with child, me seeing Serena complete a calendar year Grand Slam sweep is over for 2017, so I wasn't paying attention when the French Open started at Stade Roland Garros back on May 22.

While Little Sis is counting the days until she has her first child, I forgot for a minute that Big Sis is still playing, ranked number eleven in the world WTA rankings, and at age 36 (until June 17) is still kicking butt and taking names while repping the greatest tennis playing sister act of all time.

Venus started this 2017 edition of the French Open in search of her second title and her first since 2002 as the tenth seed in this tournament.

As usual in Paris, some big name seeded players on the women's singles tennis side have already been knocked out and are looking to have better luck across The Pond at The Championships.

Number one seeded Angelique Kerber, Johanna Konta (7), Coco Vandeweghe (19), Lauren Davis (25), Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (22) and Roberta Vinci (31) all were one match and done in the first round.

The second round at Roland Garros claimed sixth seeded Dominika Cibulkova, Madison 'I'm Not Black' Keys (12), Petra Kvitova (15), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (16), Kiki Bertens (18), Barbora Strycova (20), and Ana Konjuh (29)

The seeded players that fell in the third round are ninth seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, Elena Vesnina (14), Daria Kasatkina (26), Yulia Putintseva (27) and Zhang Shuhai (32).

But back to French Open tenth seeded Big Sis and how she's doing in this edition of the French Open who is in section four of the top half of the women's draw which has been decimated by the upsets and presents an opportunity for Big Sis to possibly win this title.

In the first round she dispatched China's Qiang Wang in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to set up her second round match with Kurumi Nara of Japan.  

Big Sis sent Nara quickly packing with another straight set 6-3,  6-1 win to propel her into the third round against Belgium's Elise Mertens, who also got sent to the Roland Garros sidelines in that same straight sets 6-3, 6-1 score.

That win over Mertens sets up her fourth round match with 30th seeded Swiss miss Timea Bacsinszky.  Should Venus prevail, she would face off in the quarters against the winner of the match between 2016 defending French Open champ Garbine Muguruza (4) and French homegirl Kristina Mladenovic (13)

Good luck the rest of the way Big Sis!