We already know that Black is beautiful, but for the first time in history the top beauty pageants in the country have simultaneously elevated this truth. Three Black women are currently wearing crowns as the 2019 Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss America.

When Cheslie Kryst’s name was announced as Miss USA on Thursday she completed the historic trio with pageant winners 2019 Miss America Nia Franklin and recently crowned 2019 Miss Teen USA Kaliegh Garris.

Kryst, who represents North Carolina, is a civil litigation attorney who received her law degree and MBA from Wake Forest University.

People across social media marveled at Kryst’s natural hair and noticed that both she and Garris bypassed any form of hair straightening.

Garris told Refinery21 that while some people tried to convince her to straighten her hair for the Miss Teen USA competition, she opted for her natural curls because when she’s wearing them, she feels confident. The Connecticut native is still in high school but plans to attend Southern Connecticut State University’s nursing program as she plans to become a trauma nurse in the future.



Both Garris and Kryst followed behind Nia Franklin who in September 2018, sprinkled Black Girl Magic onto the 2019 pageant season when she was crowned Miss America.

Franklin represented New York and holds a master's degree in music composition from UNC School of the Arts. She is an opera singer and an advocate for arts advocacy.

In 2012 Black women simultaneously wore crowns as Miss Teen USA and Miss USA.

Congratulations to these 2019 beauty queens. Together they exude beauty, brains and Black girl magic!

We’ll be tuning in later this year when Kryst represents the United States in the Miss Universe competition.