Now, 13 years after her debut at the Miss New York Princess competition, Jacquitte’s radiant smile and confident glow lit up the room as the 20-year old Cambria Heights resident won the first-ever Miss Black Queens New York beauty pageant, held on Saturday at Thomasina’s Banquet Hall in St. Albans.
She received $1,000 in cash along with other prizes and will go on to the Miss Black New York USA pageant on October 17, with a chance to compete on a national level in the Miss Black USA competition.
Nine women participated in the Miss Black Queens New York pageant competing in the following categories: personal interview, fitness wear, talent and evening gown. The competition wasn’t just open to Queen’s residents but to any United States citizen ages 17 to 26 who currently live or have lived, worked or attended school in New York State. The goal was to provide an opportunity for young women to showcase their talents and achievements as well as to allow them to speak about social issues that are important to them.
During their platform speeches the contestants discussed a wide variety of topics including education, domestic violence, drunk driving, unemployment and the current economic situation. The talent portion included singing, dancing and even a comedy routine.
Each of the four judges overseeing the competition had a different idea of what qualities the winner should posses, and those went beyond just physical beauty.
Judy Bolton, an actress and model who has judged other beauty pageants, believed the winner should be a highly educated caring individual with integrity and a desire to help the less fortunate. Spry Lee Scott, a former model and fashion editor, who is now known as a stylist to the stars, was looking for a charming contestant with the ability to light up a room and leave a lasting impression, one whose inner beauty complemented her outer beauty.
As a resident of Queens, Jacquitte said winning the competition is particularly meaningful to her, and she looks forward to representing the borough.
“I love the community of Queens,” she said. “I always thank them for raising me and teaching me lessons each day, from people I’ve bumped into at the bus stop to teachers, everybody. I thank you for the lessons that you taught me because it made me into the person I am today. It helped me grow as an individual.”
During her platform speech Jacquitte addressed the topic of self-esteem in young women and discussed an after-school program that she created three years ago called Tiara Days, in which she shares her experiences with elementary school girls and has them participate in mock pageants, during which they are encouraged to share what they love about themselves. The goal is to get them to appreciate their inner beauty.
“Girls are bullied all the time. It’s ongoing. You could solve it but you can’t help how kids can naturally be mean to each other,” the winner explained. “But what’s important is for girls to keep believing in themselves the way I did.”
For the talent portion of the competition Jacquitte did an interpretative dance routine set to a poem by Maya Angelou called “Phenomenal Woman,” to which her friend added some drum accompaniment. Jacquitte had never done interpretive dance before, but Angelou is her favorite author and the poem really speaks to her.
“I was at home and I had this book on tape,” Jacquitte recalled, “and I just heard Maya Angelou speak and she started saying the poem and I just imagined a flower and I just started moving around, and I said this is what I’m going to do.”
Jacquitte is a senior at Queens College where she is working on a bachelor’s degree in psychology. After she graduates next year, she plans to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C. to get a master’s degree in social work with the goal of teaching the subject on a graduate level.
Dieusita Jean, 19, of St. Albans won first runner-up, and, like Jacquitte, she said she was encouraged by her mother to get involved in pageants to help boost her confidence. In 1997, she was the youngest contestant to be crowned Miss Carribean Little and in 2006 she competed in the National American Miss pageant.
Although she did not claim the top spot in the Miss Black Queens competition, Jean was proud of her achievement nonetheless.
“For me to get this far is such a tremendous opportunity,” she said. “I’m just grateful and blessed.”
The title of Jean’s pageant platform speech was “Mentoring adolescent children today to become better citizens of tomorrow,” a topic she chose because growing up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn there wasn’t really a support system or means of escape for a lot of youngsters.
“Not all children can go to their parents,” she explained. “Not all children can go to their teachers. So having mentors and volunteers are very important to the development of children.”
For the talent portion, Jean — who said she learned to dance even before she could walk — performed a Christian praise dance to a song called “We Fall Down” by Donnie McClurkin.
“It’s a very inspirational and powerful song and it’s a personal song,” she said. “It’s something that I hold very near and dear to me.”
Jean is a student at Queensborough Community College where she is studying nursing, a field she chose because she considers herself to be a humanitarian and wants to help others.
Samora Suber, 24, of Harlem, who had never competed in a pageant before, claimed the second runner-up spot. Suber decided to participate because she thought it would be a positive experience in a welcoming atmosphere.
“When I heard about it I thought ‘That sounds like fun. That sounds like a good challenge. So why not,” she said. “I had a great time. This has been so much fun.”
Suber teaches drama at Harlem Children’s Zone, a nonprofit organization benefiting youth in Harlem. During her platform speech she discussed Revolution Education in Artistic Learning, a drama therapy program she developed for the group to benefit children who need an outlet to release their emotions. The goal is help them more effectively deal with any problems they might be having.
During the talent portion, Suber performed an interpretive dance piece to “Proverbs 31 Woman,” a poem that her friend Nicole Sallis wrote based on the Bible passage about what a woman should be, but taking it to a deeper level — exploring sexuality, the thinking and mentality of a woman as well as her physical appearance.
Suber is a graduate student at Covenant Bible College and Theological Seminary, where she is working on getting her master’s degree in theology. In the future, she plans to start a company to support her drama therapy program.
Both runners-up received prizes included jewelry and a spa package.
The Miss Black Queens pageant was created because the state director of the Miss Black New York USA competition wanted to break up the state into different regions to allow more women to have the opportunity to compete.
Tiffany Braxton Belvin, a model, modeling consultant and pageant coach, who was crowned Miss NYC Plus Diva 2008 and Ms. New York Plus America in 2009, was chosen to become a regional director for the Miss Black New York USA pageant. She decided to hold the competition in Queens, where she has lived for more than 20 years.
Belvin was pleased with the audience turnout for the event and is looking forward to planning next year’s festivities.
“I think it went wonderfully,” she said. “The young ladies were so talented, and they had so much drive and they really enjoyed themselves, and I think we had a very successful show.”
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