2019 has been a momentous year for many reasons, one of which came about just last week when Miss Jamaica, Toni-Ann Singh, won this year’s Miss World Pageant. Singh’s win signifies a striking moment in history: for the first time ever, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss America, Miss Universe and Miss World are all black women. Of course, this is definitely something worth celebrating, but no one is cheering as hard as Singh’s competitor, Nyekachi Douglas (aka Miss Nigeria).

Toni-Ann Singh from Jamaica is the 69th #Missworld pic.twitter.com/tgyTFFiuKU

— Miss World (@MissWorldLtd) December 14, 2019

Twitter is absolutely buzzing with praise for both Miss Jamaica AND Miss Nigeria, whose response has shown us how we should always show up for each other—even our competition.

LISTEN!!!! MISS NIGERIA’s reaction to Miss Jaimaca winning #MissWorld2019 pic.twitter.com/AgtImvsuLF

— Adeola Ariyo (@AdeolaAriyo) December 14, 2019

As people all over the world continue to savor this moment in history, these two queens are continuing to shine and share their messages of positivity. After winning the crown, Singh addressed her legion of fans on Twitter, saying: “To that little girl in St. Thomas, Jamaica and all the girls around the world – please believe in yourself. Please know that you are worthy and capable of achieving your dreams. This crown is not mine but yours. You have a PURPOSE.”

Singh was born in Morant, St. Thomas, Jamaica. She graduated from Florida State University with a degree in psychology and women’s studies. She was president of the Caribbean students association on campus, and at the time of the pageant, she had taken a year off before enrolling in medical school.

“I think I represent something special, a generation of women that are pushing forward to change the world,” she said.

And she’s absolutely right—many of Singh’s Miss World Pageant peers are on track to achieve some major goals in the near future. For example, First Runner-Up Ophély Mézino (Miss France) is a model and beauty pageant title holder who is currently studying chemical engineering. Suman Rao (Miss India) was named Second Runner-Up—she studies accounting at the University of Mumbai and is an established model with a major Instagram following.Elís Miele Coelho completed her education at St. Francis Xavier Technical College in São Paulo, where she later founded Projeto Doe Fios, an organization that provides women suffering from terminal illness with hair. And, finally, Nyekachi Douglas (Miss Nigeria) is a public health student who aims to give a voice to her community and one day establish her own fashion line (not to mention her ability to school us all on how to be our best selves!).

Absolutely amazing in all my years of watching never seen another queen this excited about someone else's win. #MissNigeria you are simply the best. https://t.co/KwqstlFCGf

— Tє̲̣̣̣̥mptє̲̣̣̣̥d (@millibrown1) December 15, 2019

What about the other four black women who have been crowned as 2019 beauty pageant royalty?

Miss World plans to be a doctor
Miss USA works on behalf of prisoners
Miss Universe fights gender-based violence
Miss America is an advocate for the arts
Miss Teen USA launched a non-profit to help people with disabilities

And they are all Black women.https://t.co/4o8JarLYqT

— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) December 15, 2019

Yup, they’re killing it, too. Take Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa. She was named Miss Universe just last week, after beginning her pageantry career at age 7. She holds a Bachelor of Technology graduate degree in public relations management from Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and worked as a graduate intern in the public relations department of Ovilvy cape Town prior to winning Miss South Africa. She is passionate about climate change, women’s empowerment and diversity, and she wants to use her title as a way to transform the way young girls think about how they look.

“I want them to live in a different world where everyone matters, where everyone is smart, where everyone is beautiful, where everyone is capable,” Tunzi said.

Kaliegh Garris, who won Miss Teen USA in April, is a communications student at Southern Connecticut State University. She founded the organization We Are People 1st, which assists people with disabilities, as a result of her relationship with her elder sister, who struggles with multiple disabilities. She also volunteers at Yale New Haven Hospital and has been recognized by the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services for her impact.

Cheslie Kryst won Miss USA in May. In addition to this title, Kryst holds a Juris Doctor and a Master of Business Administration and is licensed to practice law in both North and South Carolina. Not only is she a badass attorney—Kryst is also the founder of the fashion blog White Collar Glam, a site dedicated to helping women dress for white-collar careers.

And Nia Franklin, who was named the 2019 Miss America, is an emerging composer with a Master of Music from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. As a student at UNCSA, Franklin was a member of ArtistCorps, an AmeriCorps program that brings well-known artists to public schools and community centers to work with students who lack access to arts programming. She also worked closely with Success Academy Charter Schools, founding a music club for students and serving as a cultural partner with the nonprofit Sing For Hope.

Let’s give it up for all of these intelligent, beautiful, and compassionate women!

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Miss Universe made history this year. First crowning Miss South Africa, Zozibini Tunzi as its winner. Tunzi has dark skin and a short-cropped afro — rampant anti-blackness means most people would not have conceived of her as the most desirable woman in the universe just a few years ago. Tunzi’s win is a win for black women across the universe but she wasn’t the only victor that night, even if she reigned supreme. 

Swe Zin Htet, Miss Myanmar, is the pageant’s first openly gay contestant. In fact, Htet came out publicly only a week before the pageant’s final round. The competition hasn’t had an out contestant in its 67-year history. In Myanmar, homosexuality is illegal. Not only was Htet making a stance in Miss Universe, but in a country where she could face very real consequences, including an imprisonment sentence of 10 years to life. 

Htet comes out to help the LGBTQ community back home.

View this post on Instagram

Thank you @glamourmag & @people for the wonderful article on @swe_zin_htet. ⁣ Breaking barriers! Spreading awareness in the fight against child abuse and fight for equality within the LGBTQ ????️‍????community in Myanmar. ????????????⁣ ⁣ #missuniversemyanmar⁣ #missmyanmar⁣ #missuniverse⁣ #equality

A post shared by Miss Universe Myanmar ???????? (@missuniversemyanmar) on Dec 7, 2019 at 11:00pm PST

The 21-year-old contestant wants to use her influence to change the laws against homosexuality in Burma, Myanmar. Members of the LGBTQ community in Burma still face all levels of discrimination and ostracization in society.

“I have that platform that, if I say that I’m a lesbian, it will have a big impact on the LGBTQ community back in Burma,” Htet said. “The difficult thing is that in Burma, LGBTQ people are not accepted. They are looked down on by other people and are being discriminated against.” 

Htet came out on November 29 in an interview with a beauty blog called Missosology. When asked if Htet had any personal causes she told the interviewer that she strongly supported same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights. It was only a matter of moments before she proudly revealed she was a lesbian herself. 

“I came to a full realization about my sexual orientation over a long period of time. I knew I was ‘one of them’ way back in 2015. It is personally quite challenging but I feel that I have a greater voice and the best position to promote this cause. Some pageant fans know about it and they still support me but this is the first time I am able to talk about it in public,” she told Missosology. 

Coming out wasn’t easy, but Htet hopes it will have a positive change.

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Este es mi último posado oficial como @missuniversespain 2018 y es tan especial como el primero que realicé a días de ser coronada en la hermosa ciudad de Tarragona. Ha pasado más de un año y la emoción de ser #España permanece intacta. Ha sido un camino de descubrimientos, aprendizajes y evolución en el que juntos hicimos historia llevando al universo un mensaje que rompió barreras sociales. Hoy quiero agradecerles a cada uno de ustedes por ser incondicionales conmigo, por acompañarme en las risas, en el llanto, en la lucha por los derechos humanos, en la ardua tarea de educar sobre la diversidad del ser humano y en el orgullo de representar la energía, la cultura y la idiosincrasia de mi país. Gracias universo, gracias #España, gracias a ustedes, mis queridos amigos. Siempre suya, Ángela Ponce. _______ This is my last official shoot as @missuniversespain 2018 and it's just as special as the very first one I did just days after being crowned in the beautiful city of Tarragona. It's been over a year and the excitement to represent Spain is just as alive today! It's been a journey in which we've learned and discovered new things. We have evolved together and made history taking a message that broke barriers and has had a social impact. Today I want to thank each of you for your unconditional support to me. You've been there for me through the good times and bad, throughout this fight for human rights and the difficult task of educating about human diversity. I am very proud to represent the energy, culture and values of my country. Thank you, Universe. Thank you, #Spain. Thank you to all you, my dear friends. Always yours, Ángela Ponce. – Fotografía: @ivandumont. – Coordinación: @rogervrgs. – Producción: @tino.constantino. – Maquillaje y peinado: @jcesarmakeup. – Vestido: @douglastapiaoficial. – Pendientes: @gwittles. – Corona: @gwittles. – Locación: Hotel @vpplazaespanadesign – Org Miss Universe Spain: @milamartinez_pageantcoach.

A post shared by ANGELA PONCE (@angelaponceofficial) on Sep 17, 2019 at 2:27pm PDT

Htet told People that coming out wasn’t easy. She knew who she was since she was 15 at least, but her parents weren’t immediately as understanding as she had hoped. 

“At first, they were mad. They didn’t accept me. But later, when they found out more about the LGBTQ community, they started to accept me,” she said. 

Because LGBTQ members experience bigotry in her country, when she entered a three-year relationship with the famous Burmese singer Gae Gae, she had to keep it a secret. The contestant received praise from Paula Shugart, president of The Miss Universe Organization. 

“We are honored to give a platform to strong, inspirational women like Miss Universe Myanmar, who are brave enough to share their unique stories with the world,” Shugart said in a statement. “Miss Universe will always champion women to be proud of who they are.”

While Htet is the first out and proud lesbian in the Miss Universe pageant, there have been other open members of the LGBTQ community. Last year, Angela Ponce, who happens to be trans, was crowned Miss Spain. 

Black women reign supreme in the pageant world for the first time ever.

In 2019, Miss America, Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, and Miss Universe are all Black women. Excuse us, we're getting emotional. ????????(????: Getty/ Miss USA) pic.twitter.com/4CzQfHBtRU

— ESSENCE (@Essence) December 9, 2019

Hip Latina notes that in 2019, for the first time ever, Miss America, Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, and Miss Universe were all black women. The times, they’re changing! Beauty pageants have been known to promote a white European, cis, thin standard of beauty. While these wins are symbolic they do represent that the larger public perception of black women’s beauty is evolving. 

“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me—with my kind of skin and my kind of hair—was never considered to be beautiful,” Tunzi said as she was crowned. “I think it is time that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face, and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.”

Even Oprah Winfrey spoke out about the historic win.

Congratulations Miss South Africa, the new Miss Universe @zozitunzi! Agree with you…leadership is the most powerful thing we should be teaching young women today. We welcome your visit to #OWLAG, our Leadership Academy for Girls ???????????????????????? https://t.co/YL0NeO40QU

— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) December 9, 2019

Oprah Winfrey congratulated Tunzi on Twitter and invited her to speak at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. Leadership was on Tunzi’s mind as well when she won. 

She said, “I think we are the most powerful beings in the world and that we should be given every opportunity and that is what we should be teaching these young girls—to take up space. Nothing is as important as taking up space in society and cementing yourself.”

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