Nia Imani Franklin, formerly Miss New York, was crowned Miss America 2019 earlier this week. Some news outlets are calling her “Miss America 2.0” because she is the first woman to wear the crown in the post swimsuit competition era. The Miss America pageant, or scholarship competition if you prefer that statement, did away with the controversial swimsuit segment for the first time in 98 years.

During the televised portion of the pageant, the candidates shared their messages for the future of America and delivered their platform to viewers around the country. Nia Franklin, a trained opera singer, graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She studied music composition. According to the New York Times, seven winners of the Miss America competition have hailed from New York, including Vanessa Williams, who won in 1983.

Congratulations to Nia Franklin. I hope that she uses her platform to inspire Americans to greatness and that she serves as an example of success and class. 

Side Note: Some news outlets are reporting that the pageant had a significant drop in TV ratings, with some suggesting that it was due to the absence of the swimsuit competition. If someone didn’t watch the show because of that, then their viewership doesn’t matter at all in any way,  because these young ladies should be celebrated, not objectified, there is enough of that on TV already. While some people may consider pageants to be superficial, they really do make an impact on the people who obtain scholarships and training from these programs.

• Vontoba Terry (@vontoba)