What Does It Mean to Be Crowned ‘Miss Juneteenth’?

For contestants, it’s a pageant, yes, but also a place to celebrate Black sisterhood and promote a deeper understanding of a complex holiday.

In the month of June, as celebrations to commemorate the Juneteenth holiday begin, dozens of Black girls and women across the country will be competing for a singular title: Miss Juneteenth. Miss Juneteenth pageants have been held locally for decades but they have been growing in visibility as awareness of the holiday has increased. The first National Miss Juneteenth Pageant was held in 2020 in Memphis, with Saniya Gay, a previous Miss Juneteenth winner in Delaware, claiming the title. Juneteenth, or Freedom Day, is rooted in emancipation for the enslaved, so it involves both the celebration of joy and the commemoration of pain. June 19 marks the anniversary of the day in 1865 when news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Galveston, Texas — nearly two years after the Proclamation had been issued. African Americans, beginning in Texas, have celebrated the holiday since 1866.