Miss USA: "I had to Deal with Colorism Internationally."

In December 2015, black women and girls everywhere were delighted to see dark skinned beauty, Deshauna Barber walk across the stage and accept the title of Miss District of Columbia USA 2016. It wasn't a win for us just because she is a black woman, but it was a win because she is a black woman. A unambiguous, bantu featured black woman. For once, so many around the way black girls could see an image of themselves relish in the ultimate crown of beauty. The winner also agreed that it was a good look and stated; "I thought it was beautiful that I could represent those darker chocolate girls that don't always see themselves on the national stage. I see a lot of women of color that have competed and won, but it felt good to represent dark-skinned Black women."

I think I speak for many of us when I say we don't expect this to be the norm in the pageant world, but found it quite refreshing to see nonetheless. It was even more validating to see Deshauna rocking her natural hair when she passed her crown to this years winner, Kara McCullough.