1st Black winner in Mississippi history wins Miss USA crown

[groundloop]

Source: ABC News

Asya Branch, a student at the University of Mississippi, set a number of firsts in her home state when she won the Miss USA 2020 title on Monday evening at Elvis Presley's Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.

The 22-year-old made history as the first Black woman to be crowned Miss Mississippi USA and Monday night's win was the first time a Mississippi contestant won the overall title.

"I couldn't believe that my name had been called," Branch, a native of Booneville, said on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday. "I'm the first Miss Mississippi to have been crowned Miss USA and so, honestly I was just honored and overwhelmed and completely overjoyed."

Branch's historic win comes just one year after Black women made history in the pageant world, sweeping all the top titles. In 2019, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss America, Miss Universe and Miss World crowned Black women as winners at the same time.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/1st-black-contestant-mississippi-history-wins-miss-usa/story?id=74127081&cid=clicksource_4380645_1_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed

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I normally don't give a rip about these pageants, but this is pretty special.

[niyad]

1. I agree with your last sentence. Surprised that these things are even held this year.

[Enterstageleft]

2. Black women are going to save our country!

[MaryMagdaline]

3. Wonderful for her and for Mississippi!

Great to see her focus is prison reform

[left-of-center2012]

4. I bet she will get a phone call from Joe Biden

[NBachers]

5. Good for her, and she has my nothing but the best wishes.

[orwell]

6. I demand a recount!

[Cha]

7. Congratulations, Asya Branch!

[oldsoftie]

8. She actually performed at a Trump rally once too. But what a barrier shattered in MS!!

Would anyone 50 yrs ago think they would have picked a black woman as their representative?

[Auggie]

13. Indeed

[NurseJackie]

9. It was a historic shift from past pageants when some competitions did not even allow women of color...

It was a historic shift from past pageants when some competitions did not even allow women of color to participate in its earliest years. The Miss America pageant, for instance, did not allow Black contestants for the first 30 years of its existence. Now, Black women have won major competitions and are using their platforms to change the world.

[Dial H For Hero]

10. New Miss USA Asya Branch Loves Guns and Performed at a Trump Rally

https://www.thedailybeast.com/new-miss-usa-asya-branch-loves-guns-and-performed-at-a-trump-rally

Branch took home the top prize on Monday evening after sharing her thoughts on gun control. Following two intense rounds of eliminations in the swimsuit and evening gown contests, the final speaking round of the competition asked the remaining five “candidates” to deliver a 30-second statement on a topic randomly selected from a plastic box. Miss Mississippi drew the “gun laws” card.

“As someone who grew up in a home with guns, I learned at an early age how to load, how to fire, and gun safety,” Branch began her statement, “and I think that education should be available to everyone.” She went on to say that she believes people should have to go through training and pass safety tests before they’re allowed a permit for a gun.

Ultimately, though, the beauty queen was clear in her defense of the right to bear arms. “I think it’s important that we not ban guns, because obviously people will find a way to get what they want anyways, but I think it’s our Second Amendment Right, and we just need more safety surrounding that,” she said.

In an earlier segment of the competition, she also weighed in on the political polarization of the country, attributing it to a lack of trust in the “systems that seem to keep our country running, from the media, to business, to our government.” (She’s also voiced some troubling views on those in the gay community, albeit back in 2012.)

(excerpt)

[nycbos]

11. This probably makes her the first non inbred person to win.

[groundloop]

12. Remarks like that do nothing except keep the hatred going between "us and them"

[nycbos]

14. The results of election are clear.

Trump increased his share of the white vote. They like him for the racism, for the antisemitism, for the Islamaphobia, for the policies that legalize discrimination against the LGBT community. Georgia is competitive because Whites make up a smaller share of the electorette and African-American, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans make up a higher share.


As Lyndon Johnson said "if you could convince the lowest white man he is better than the best colored man he won't notice you picking his pockets."

[groundloop]

16. I live in Alabama now, and am able to have polite political discussions with my neighbors

I can point out that tRump is NOT a good businessman because he's gone bankrupt 6 times, that he's not a faithful husband, etc. Little by little a few people might begin to wake up.

If I just called them fucking inbreds that would just harden them against any possibility of seeing the light. While somewhat personally satisfying, calling people names does more harm than good.

[nycbos]

17. To my understanding you would need a third of the white vote in AL

Normally we get around 10%

It took the Republican candidate to be a child molester for us to even have a narrow chance and even then we barely scraped by.

This goes way beyond just having a difference of opinion. There is a difference in humanity when one side thinks it's OK to put children in cages and the other side doesn't.

When Trump called Mexicans rapists, called the Klansman who were shouting "Jews will not replace us" "fine people." when he incited terrorism against a sitting governor these people said "yeah we like him.

I think there is a slim to none chance we could reach people like that. We're certainly not going to triple our performance with them.

[Steelrolled]

18. Thank you.

Some people seem to enjoy the "us and them" mentality. I don't.

[honest.abe]

15. Of course we need a photo!