Confidence. Poise. Different.
The Beta Nu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity hosted the Queens of The Golden Dynasty: Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant on Thursday.
A rainy and cold night was not going to keep the crowd away from Lee Hall as spectators came into the auditorium and quickly filled the seats.
The pageant was hosted by Darilyn Smith and Solomon Lamar and opened with a promotional video for the pageant produced by Beta Nu Spring 19 initiate, Jonathan David. The opening scene mimicked the Beyoncé homecoming Coachella performance followed by introductions of the 15 contestants.
As the night proceeded the crowd was awarded with talents ranging from song, dance, spoken word and even chemistry.
Unlike usual pageants, during the formal wear portion the young ladies were reading off their own biographies for the audience, presenting clarity to who they are without confusion from outside readers all while being escorted by members of Alpha Phi Alpha.
“It was a great, shocking and eye-opening experience,” said Tariq Lucona, as he witnessed his first pageant on FAMU’s campus. He was surprised he enjoyed it because he typically is not interested in such events.
Followed by heartfelt words from pageant dad James Williams, the audience received a shocking twist of events when they were notified that five of the 15 contestants would not be allowed to move on and participate in the questionnaire portion of the pageant.
“Starve the negative and feed the positive,” answered Taylor Brown, contestant number 8 when asked what advice would she give her freshman self. This answer pleased the crowd and was one of the few favored responses of the night.
Following the questionnaire the Beta Nu Royal Court for the 2018-2019 academic year did their final walk, leaving a heartwarming message from the previous Miss Black and Gold, Dyamond Knight. Soon after the 2019-2020 court was crowned.
The 2019-2020 Beta Nu Court is as follows: Miss 1906: Christine Nasice; Miss 1932: Maya Bowens; Miss Beta Nu: Armoni Moore; Miss Black: Amiya Bowers; Miss Gold: Christelle Haygood; and Miss Black and Gold: Taylor Brown.
