Troy to host Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant for local youths

TROY — The Troy community can celebrate Juneteenth in a special way this year as the Troy Community Center hosts the second annual Miss Michigan Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant.

Juneteenth marks the commemoration of the Emancipation Proclamation and the ending of American slavery. The pageant is hosted by the Power Detroit organization and highlights young women ages 4 to 19 to celebrate their academic excellence and community service.

“Power Detroit started as a social justice organization and has transformed into something that mentors young children and encourages them to go on to be active members of their community,” explained Power Detroit founder Summer March. “The pageant was something we did last year in Royal Oak. A member of the Juneteenth Committee asked me about the possibility of doing a pageant. We got judges. We got local teachers involved. Megan Woods from WDIV took part. It really took off. Unfortunately, one of the contestants got COVID, so it ended up being virtual. We wanted to try it again, but do it in person this time.”

The pageant will take place 2-4 p.m. Saturday, June 17, at the Troy Community Center, located at 3179 Livernois Road. There is no cost to register to compete and no cost to attend. Additional information and registration forms are available at https://linktr.ee/powerdetroit.

Donations are recommended and will benefit Power Detroit’s efforts to support prize packages for winners, travel costs for their top winner to compete at the National Juneteenth Pageant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and to support its local #MoreThanAHashtag initiative, which supports youth and their efforts to promote social justice and activism within their communities.

The winners from each age group will receive a crown and a sash and will represent the organization for one year as Miss Michigan Juneteenth. One contestant will be awarded a scholarship and the opportunity to represent Michigan at the National Juneteenth Pageant.

“The scholarship is offered to one high school senior of up to $9,000,” said March. “Even if the winner isn’t a senior, the highest placing senior will still walk away with the scholarship. There is a cash prize for each winner of each age division, as well as a gift bag donated by local businesses and organizations. The age divisions are divided up as ‘Little,’ which is ages 4-6; ‘Junior,’ which is ages 7-9; ‘Pre-Teen,’ which is ages 10-12; ‘Teen,’ which is ages 13-14; and ‘Miss,’ which is ages 15-19.”

Cassidy Conley, of Sterling Heights, was the 2022 Miss Teen Michigan Juneteenth. She said this wasn’t something she usually considered, but she was encouraged to enter after seeing that the pageant had such a strong focus on academics and community involvement.

“I just finished up my senior year of high school and am headed to college,” said Conley. “The pageant was an opportunity to leave my comfort zone. My sister entered pageants, and I was always a bit of a tomboy, but this highlighted education and enrichment, so I thought it sounded like a great event to get involved in.”

Those taking part will have to discuss their abilities and interests before they even step in front of the judges.

“Our contestants have four or five rounds, depending on their age,” said March. “They are judged on community service and academic achievement prior to the pageant. The older girls also send in an essay. On the day of the pageant, they have interviews with the judges. Then there is a personal introduction and formalwear presentation in front of the crowd. They have to describe themselves and tell others why they think they should win. We will talk about Juneteenth and why a pageant is something we think is fitting for the holiday.”

Conley said this wider focus is something that many young women may not assume about such a pageant, but she believes this is exactly why such events like the Juneteenth pageant are needed.

“Most pageants label themselves as beauty pageants and celebrate being a girly-girl. This is more about girls who are strong and intellectual. It’s more about beauty in a different way. It seemed less superficial,” she said. “Ask yourself, ‘Why not?’ It’s more than being in a pageant. It’s highlighting our culture in a way that highlights Black women as beautiful, smart, strong and everything we want to be. We have these people holding titles representing that, but we all are these things.”

The pageant will be hosted by Troy after the inaugural year, which had to be held as a virtual event.

“Our previous space fell through. I was a Troy High School graduate, so we looked into Troy, and they were very welcoming,” said March. “Pageants are a fairly regular way of celebrating Juneteenth in the South, and we are happy to bring that to this community.”

Besides highlighting the best and brightest young ladies of the local community, March said she hopes this will help more people learn about Juneteenth and its importance.

“The Juneteenth holiday, even though it is now a federal holiday, has a lot of misinformation or people who don’t really understand it,” she remarked. “We want to bring the holiday further into the spotlight and explain why the Black and African American population holds so tightly to it. There are young ladies who are doing things that even a lot of adults are afraid to do, like getting on stage and publicly speaking. We want to educate people, but we also want to let people have fun.”

“Juneteenth has recently been made a federal holiday, but it’s important to remember what its root cause is. Sometimes (the meaning of) holidays can get lost in the celebration,” added Conley. “We need to remember things like its importance and the hardship of where this holiday comes from. It’s not just about who we are now, but also where we come from.”

March said that she wants the pageant to celebrate many of the things that Juneteenth represents: hope, achievement, and pride in one’s self and one’s community.

“It’s a bit of a cliche, but while everyone doesn’t walk away with a crown, everyone wins because they can inspire others,” she said. “Pageantry brings out the poise and grace in young ladies. It’s more than just celebrating their beauty; it’s about holding them up as examples. … We feel this celebrates and encourages their confidence as well as their individual gifts and talents.”