During a Sunday rehearsal in Tacoma, seven high school girls strutted across the Silas High School stage in glittering gowns. They rehearsed their talents 一 a spoken word poem about oppression, dances, skits 一 and announced the causes they’re passionate about, including mental illness awareness and fighting colorism. The contestants, who have been preparing since April, have a few rehearsals left before Pierce County’s second Miss Juneteenth Pageant & Scholarship Program at Tacoma’s Stewart Heights Park on June 19.
Like many pageants, the event will include a parade of gowns, a talent show and a panel interview. But to the contestants, the organizers and the community cheering them on, this pageant also holds a deeper meaning: a chance to represent the resilience and beauty of the local Black community and help Black girls find their own paths toward success. Juneteenth pageants aren’t anything new.
The Tri-Cities’ Miss Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant has run for over 20 years, for example. But they have grown in visibility around the U.S.
since the holiday, which marks the day in 1865 when news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Galveston, Texas, and the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free, became federally recognized in 2021. Sometimes referred to as “pageants with a purpose,” Juneteenth pageants often emphasize history, education and uplifting Black communities. In Tacoma, the 2-year-old event continues a legacy of pagean.