Black Beauty Queen Makes History In Missouri

Bayleigh Dayton celebrated Black pride by becoming the first Black Miss Missouri USA.

The effervescence of Black beauty is an amazing thing to behold. Black women are so beautiful and that beauty has shone through once again as Bayleigh Dayton became the first African-American woman to win the Miss Missouri USA pageant.

The stunning 23-year-old is a Baylor University graduate, a flight attendant, and a print model. She contested in previous beauty pageants, but finally broke the ice and took the crown home this year. In 2013, Dayton was among the top 16. And last year, she finished in 2^nd place and she was awarded Miss Congeniality.

“Last year when I entered, I knew that my road to pageantry wasn’t finished. When I made top five last year I knew that I could do this. The insecurities weren’t there. It was easier for me to focus this year,” Dayton said.

Dayton will progress into next year’s Miss USA pageant. And if she goes ahead to win the competition, she’ll then advance to compete for the crown of Miss Universe.

The beauty queen has since used her platform to make a difference, as she encourages other Black beauties to see the rarity of African-American women in such contests not as a barrier, but as an opportunity to forge ahead and achieve greatness.

“It’s awesome to be able to put a face with a title. I’m obviously the first African-American titleholder in this position. Now girls have someone to look up to and can have an actual role model,” she stated.

Being the first ever Black woman to become Miss Missouri USA is something Ms. Dayton can be very proud of. We believe that her achievements will help to reassure dozens of people confused by the absence of Black faces in ‘Beautiful people’ google search.

Source: Essence