The 2019 Miss Teen USA winner rocked her natural hair during the pageant—and here's why it matters

Anna Sheffer
Updated

Women of color wearing their natural hair in movies, television, and magazines has happily become more common in recent years, but overall, it’s still often the exception rather than the rule. Which is why Miss Teen USA 2019 rocking her natural Afro during the pageant marked a huge moment for representation.

According to People, on April 28th, Kaliegh Garris of Connecticut was crowned Miss Teen USA 2019. And so many viewers were loving her decision to embrace her natural hair during the competition.

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She added, “As I’ve gotten older, it makes me feel unique.” However, the decision wasn’t easy: Garris noted that she received pushback and criticism in the often homogenous pageant circuit.

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Thankfully, she ignored the critics, and it paid off with a victory that brought much-needed representation to so many women and girls. Business Insider notes that it’s been 20 years since the pageant last crowned a winner with natural hair—when Ashley Coleman took home the Miss Teen USA title in 1999.

And Twitter was here for it.

Aside from having gorgeous hair, Garris boasts a long list of accomplishments. Her bio on the Miss Teen USA website states that she attends two high schools (one of which is a specialized performing arts school) and is a competitive dancer. She also founded a movement called “We Are People 1st” in honor of her sister, who has multiple disabilities.

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Hello everyone, I am so excited to put a name to a face of something I have been passionate about for so long! #wearepeople1st • • Growing up I never saw my sister Chauntel, as different, but others did due to the fact she has multiple disabilities. As I’ve gotten older I wanted to create something that helped people understand how those with disabilities are not any different than you or I. Therefore, I introduce to you ‘We Are People 1st’ • • ‘We Are People 1st’ is a movement based in educating the youth on how to respectfully discuss/speak to people with a health issue or disability.  It encourages students to see people with disabilities as equals and takes away the negative connotation associated with those who have disabilities. ‘We Are People First 1st’ creates interactive classroom style lessons that provide social understanding needed to respectfully interact and understand the those who disabilities by using People First Language. • • If you have any questions feel free to direct message or leave a comment below! I will be post more about my movement soon and will be sure to share all of my classroom activities! • #WeArePeople1st #MissCTUSA #MissCTTeenUSA #MissUSA #MissTeenUSA #MissUniverse #ConfidentlyBeautiful

A post shared by Kaliegh Garris (@missctteenusa) on Feb 15, 2019 at 4:41pm PST

We’re happy to see this year’s Miss Teen USA title go to such a deserving candidate—and we’re even more glad that it marks a major step forward for inclusivity.