Friday, March 29, 2024

Biracial Winner of Kappa Alpha Psi ‘Miss Black UT’ Pageant Draws Backlash

Rachel Molonson, winner of Kappa Alpha Psi's Miss Black Pageant
Rachel Molonson, winner of Kappa Alpha Psi’s Miss Black Pageant

*A Kappa Alpha Psi-hosted beauty pageant that was open to black women at the University of Texas has come under fire for its choice of winner, a very light-skinned biracial student who some say isn’t “black enough.”

University of Texas: Kappa Alpha Psi's 2017 Miss Black UT contestants
University of Texas: Kappa Alpha Psi’s 2017 Miss Black UT contestants

Rachael Malonson, a 22-year-old journalism major, took home the crown at the fraternity’s Miss Black UT pageant on Sunday, beating seven other contestants in a competition that included five hours of dancing, singing, posing, answering questions and more, according to USA Today.

When Malonson was announced the winner on social media, however, a debate was sparked online about her light complexion – the result of a black father and white mother – being historically considered the standard of beauty for African American women.

Malonson actually anticipated a few side-eyes. “I wasn’t sure if I would even place in the pageant because I wasn’t sure they would think I was ‘black enough’,” she told USA Today. She decided to enter anyway. “I chose to do the pageant to gain a deeper inner confidence before I graduate, while breaking stereotypes that black people or mixed-race people have to look a certain way,” she said.

University of Texas: Kappa Alpha Psi's 2017 Miss Black UT finalists
University of Texas: Kappa Alpha Psi’s 2017 Miss Black UT finalists

Malonson told the Daily Texan that she’s always had to deal with this type of criticism.

“For me, I’ve always had to battle ‘I’m not black enough,” Malonson said. “But to not just place, but win the title is truly rewarding.”

The co-ed also expressed gratitude to those supporting her online, though she told the Dallas Morning News she had to delete her Twitter app during the negativity on her timeline. She said she wants to “teach people that not every black person [and] not every mixed person looks the same way.”

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