In a December/January issue of WorkingMother, the beautiful and talented Vanessa Williams was featured on the cover of that magazine. While it isn't remarkable that she would be featured, it is a magazine that highlights the successes and triumphs of mothers, it simply adds to her stature as a woman who moved from an establishment put down to create a niche for herself that could not be denied. Today, hardly anyone remembers the withdrawal of the Miss America crown from her for having posed nude at an early age.

While she is a beautiful cover for any magazine, the Working Mother Magazine writes of Williams as a good neighbor, a community contributor, and their Gala Awards Dinner keynote speaker; Gibbs writes of her differently, especially in this Black History Month.

Vanessa Williams was the first Black Miss America, after White America's many years of saying that Black women were not beautiful enough to be Miss America. She broke their caste system wide open.

Many Blacks have argued that she was allowed to bath in their white sun because she has qualities that are White-appearing. This idea is one that many Blacks talk about--Whites like to see their own images in others as some type of ego stimulus. Regardless of the reason she became Miss America, she pioneered in having crossed over an important color line in America. Furthermore, Blacks come in every shade, shape, and color; that is the beauty of black folk!

Vanessa Williams, born on March 18th of 1963, grew up in a small town in upstate New York called Millwood. Her parents, Milton and Helen Williams, were music teachers who encouraged Vanessa in her musical studies. She also has a younger brother, Christopher, but it was said of Vanessa, she was born to be on the stage.

While Miss Williams is undeniably beautiful by Black and White standards, there had been many other beautiful Black women before her who had not been allowed to compete openly for Miss America. That is the reason for the Miss Black America pageants--beauty comes in all shades and shapes. Nevertheless, she was crowned because White America could no longer deny that Black women are extraordinarily beautiful-- chocolate is sweet!

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But soon after being crowned Miss America, she was stripped of that title because she had posed nude before becoming Miss America. In taking back the honor that was bestowed upon her, she was supposedly a broken woman.

However, Vanessa Williams was larger and stronger than they had imagined; they had no idea of the mettle of this young woman. Most Blacks hold as a general rule that she had to be far more beautiful and stronger than all other White contestants to win Miss America.

But as they attempted to crush her into disgrace, she maintained her poise and strength to develop a singing niche and parlay it into an acting career. How many other Miss America's have accomplished that? Usually, Miss America is crowned, she has one year of recognition, after that year, she fades into the red, white, and blue of America. Instead of fading, Ms. Williams rose to popularity and become a great singer, a great actress, a wife, a mother, and a wealthy woman. That was and is the strength of the first Black woman who was crown Miss America.

Because of her strength and unstoppable ability, Gibbs salutes Ms. Vanessa Williams, an outstanding Miss America; an outstanding American; an outstanding, beautiful, talented, and intelligent Black American woman! []

Gibbs Staff

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