First Black Miss University at Ole Miss Reflects on Her Historic Win

A White woman took the crown but then a reconsideration changed history

Ronda Racha Penrice
ZORA
Published in
4 min readJul 6, 2020

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A photo illustration of a black and white image of a black beauty pageant winner holding a bouquet of roses.
Photo Illustration; Image Source: John M Lund Photography Inc/Getty Images

A Black woman winning Miss University, the signature pageant at the University of Mississippi, or Ole Miss, as it’s more popularly known, isn’t big news today. Mississippi finally agreeing to drop the Confederate flag from its…

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Ronda Racha Penrice
ZORA
Writer for

ATL-based Ronda Racha Penrice is a writer/cultural critic specializing in film/TV, lifestyle, and more. She is the author of Black American History For Dummies.