Miss Texas Regan Hutsell may not be the first Black woman to wear the Miss America crown, but her victory offers another striking snapshot of how dramatically the face of the century-old competition has changed.
Hutsell, 25, was crowned the 99th Miss America on Sept. 6, becoming only the 10th Black woman to hold the title. She also made history as the first woman of color crowned Miss America while wearing her natural hair, a choice she said was important so girls could see that their natural beauty belongs on the national stage.
The moment carries added weight considering Miss America’s past. For decades the pageant literally had a rule restricting contestants to the “White race.” The notorious “Rule 7,” adopted during the segregation era, required contestants to be “of good health and of the White race.” The formal restriction lasted into the 1950s, while racial exclusion persisted much longer in practice. Cheryl Browne broke the competition’s color barrier in 1970, and it took another 13 years in 1983 before Vanessa Williams became the first Black woman crowned Miss America. Nearly a week earlier, Miss USA was also an African-American woman also becoming the first married woman to hold the title!
This year’s final five also reflected a pageant increasingly removed from its historically narrow image of American beauty. Along with Hutsell were Miss Louisiana Shelby Bordelon, Miss Illinois Kate Dimmett, Miss California Sharlize True Trujillo and Miss District of Columbia Evelyn Smith, who previously made history as the first Black Miss Oklahoma’s Teen.
For Hutsell, the crown may be less about being the first than about what young Black girls now see as possible.
Miss America once struggled to make room for Black women on its stage. Today, they are helping redefine what America sees when it looks at the crown.