When I was Miss Cook County, I did an appearance at a muckety-muck fundraiser in downtown Chicago. We were wrapping up when a middle-aged man approached my director and I holding this humongous color photo of me, wanting an autograph. I automatically felt uneasy....

Everyone will remember the night of a competition: the glamour, the dress, the graceful sashay across the stage. What they don't remember, or even know takes place, is the months and months of preparation taken on by every pageant contender involved. They are...

       If you are ever on a college campus where the Divine Nine is represented, an extension of the Miss Black and Gold Pageant won't be hard to find. A national pageant system created by the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.,the Miss...

If you are ever on a college campus where the Divine Nine is represented, an extension of the Miss Black and Gold Pageant won't be hard to find. A national pageant system created by the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.,the Miss Black and Gold Pageant...

Author Robert Greene calls it “dead time” or “alive time,”  referring to the approach one takes toward their place in the workforce. To him, if your day job is something that you love, that energizes you and fills you with creativity, it’s alive time. Pretty...

October 27, 2012- Miss Black Illinois USA 2012 had finished her farewell walk. The audience waited nervously at the historic DuSable Museum of African-American History in Chicago as the exiting queen then made small talk of her reign with the pageant’s host and...

      She's named "Chance" for a reason. Chances find the meeting point of hard work and opportunity. They create where others may have seen nothingness. They have a desire to make the impossible possible. In every way, that's Chance Cessna. The Chicago...

Leaves are falling. The air is crisp. The general atmosphere is abuzz in preparation for the festivities of the holidays and some due time to relax. And that’s perfect for everyone but Shelby Patrice, Miss Black Kentucky USA 2012. You see, after competing in a...

Amina Gilyard has never understood the word no, running on sheer determination and a tireless will to serve her community. When she funneled that passion into pageantry, she found the perfect fit for her future. That doesn't mean she wasn't apprehensive, though. She...

No one would have known that it was only her second pageant. No one would have known as she placed in the Top 5 of an array of beautiful and ambitious women from across Washington state. No one would have known as she was announced as the second runner up of the Miss...