William H. Kelly III
Associate Editor
Jackson State University produces women and men who strive to achieve high accolades in their field and earn titles special to their heart. Three students at JSU are currently doing just that as they vie to be the next Miss Black Mississippi USA 2016.
Chrishtian Cameron, a junior criminal justice major from Natchez, Miss., is currently representing as Miss Black Natchez.
“What inspired me was to eventually help everyone that I could because my platform is to raise awareness in children obesity. I definitely want to start in my hometown and to help people understand the consequences of becoming obese, so I just really want to show how negative the impact could be,” said Cameron.
She added: “I did two pageants in high school and I did the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. pageant last year where I placed as Miss Congeniality. This is my first real real pageant.”
Robin Y. Jackson, a senior political science major from Jackson, Miss., is the representing as Miss Black Hinds County and is determined to impact others with her platform.
“My platform as Miss Black Hinds County is ‘Beautiful Minds Beautiful People,’ and basically what that platform promotes is self-esteem awareness and also mental health awareness. I took this platform for testimonial reasons because a lot of my family has been diagnosed with mental illnesses and as a young child I dealt with self-esteem issues,” said Jackson.
She added: “I want to help students who have these issues or young ladies in the community and in Mississippi and let them know that it’s ok, there’s help, there are ways that we can make it better and there are ways that we can go through a better healing process.”
Last, but not least is the youngest of the JSU contestants, Jobrielle Winfree.
Winfree, a sophomore chemistry major from Little Rock, Ark. is representing as Miss Black Mississippi Ridgeland.
“I was Miss Black Arkansas Talented Teen 2012-2013, which is the teen category for the Miss Black USA system. There were a lot of harsh comments, especially in Arkansas where I’m from about the word ‘black’. At the same time, being Miss Black Arkansas Talented Teen, you realize the importance and the threat of black excellence being known so when I was that young, I vowed that when I got older I would continue as a Miss contestant so that I could do more,” said Winfree.
She added: “My platform is G.E.M.S. which is an acronym for Gathering to Explore Math and Science. At one point in time I gave up on science. I used to love science as a child but as science got harder and math got harder, I didn’t pursue it as I wanted to. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be going and focused on the career that I’m trying to get to. My platform basically encourages people, even when your classes get hard, don’t hold yourself back.”
For those students who want to help support these fellow Tigers, you may purchase a ticket for $25 from your favorite contestant and also visit http://missblackmississippiusa.org/contestants/ to vote for one of the three contestants as the “2015 People’s Choice” winner. The pageant will be held at 3 p.m. on Oct. 10 in the Tupelo Civic Auditorium.
Be First to Comment