11 PVAMU Co-eds compete for 2020 Miss Black and Gold Title in November

Eleven Contestants are set to compete for the 2020 Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Competition on January 31, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the Opal Johnson Smith Auditorium, Willie Tempton Student Center at Prairie View A&M University. Tickets are on sale: Pre-sale $5.00; Day of the Pageant: $7.00 W/Student ID; $10.00 General Admission. Kids 12 and under - FREE!

The contestants are: FR: Jamedria Barrett, Tijahnae Wells, Melanie Hollis, Kala Washington, Richanda Berry, BR: Z'Nae Mangum, Jaelyn Green, Tiara Bailey, Erin Haven, Jane Olear and Angel Butler.

The young ladies were selected from a field of 30 candidates who expressed interest in the competition.  For the past four months they have been in rehearsals preparing the competition.  This year's competition theme "Boss Lady: Empowered Now" is bound to be an exciting show for the audience.

The winners of the pageant will compete in the Texas Council of Alpha Chapters' Miss Black and Gold competition on February 8 in Austin, Texas. 

The current Miss Black and Gold Taylor Barnes (Black and Gold-Eta Gamma) and Cato Jackson (Black and Gold-Epsilon Tau Lambda), have been assisting with the competition preparation along with Pageant Co-Chairs Zacheaus Ransom (Eta Gamma) and Frederick V. Roberts (Epsilon Tau Lambda) and others.  Kenneth Epting, Artistic Director for Exclamation Dance Company pageant choreographer and consultant.

The Black and Gold Pageant began in 1976 as a national program of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.  The pageant went on hiatus and returned in 1982.  The Pageant is one way we assist young women in becoming the professionals they ought to be.

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca New York on December 4, 1906.  The fraternity’s commitment to excellence among the members has been extended to providing programs to enhance the welfare of the community.


Two major changes have been made to the 2020 program to include the name to the Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Competition, with no reference to 'Pageant', and replacing the swimsuit competition with the Lifestyle and Fitness Competition, designed to showcase the young lady in terms of her physical form in relation to her concern for health and well-being.    The contestant is judged in either swimwear or lifestyle and fitness attire. If the contestants choose to wear swimwear, a sarong may now be worn throughout the entire time on stage.
 

In the past three years, the young women from Prairie View A&M University have won at the district and regional levels, beginning with Nadia Green as Miss Eta Gamma winning the title of TCAC (Texas) Miss Black & Gold and Briana Clark, Miss Epsilon Tau Lambda, as 2nd Runner-up in 2014; Adibisi Adeneje, Miss Eta Gamma winning the TCAC (Texas) and SW Region Miss Black & Gold in 2015, with Kiera Hooey, Miss Epsilon Tau Lambda as 1st Runner-up; Joselyn Eusury Miss Eta Gamma and Christina Balthazar Epsilon Tau Lambda being named to top Seven in 2016; and Nakisha Francois, Miss Eta Gamma and Moriah Cobert, Miss Epsilon Tau Lambda being named 2nd Runner-up to TCAC Miss Black & Gold in 2017; Destiny Jefferson, Miss Epsilon Tau Lambda was 1st Runner-up and then Miss TCAC 2018-19 and Taylor Barnes and Cato Jackson named to the top Seven in 2019. 

Several of the former contestants in recent years have competed in other pageants, including winning the Miss Prairie View A&M University title i.e. Ivy Walls in 2015 and Moriah Cobert 2017.

The Competition is seeking sponsors and advertisers. For sponsorship information, CLICK HERE or write to missblackandgold2016@gmail.com.