Only those who evolve, are the ones that stay relevant. Miss Black US Ambassador has announced a set of three major changes in the pageant’s basic structure.
“Over the past five years, [Miss Black US Ambassador] has always challenged itself to evolve with the times,” said Patrice Harrison, CEO. “We are a grass-roots empowerment pageant that believes in empowering current and future generations of Black women to be change agents, entrepreneurs and leaders.”
“In the past year, we became an empowerment program of Ambassadors of Change Incorporated, which allows us to continue expanding our reach and create additional opportunities for young women of colour,” Harrison added. “With our growth comes three major changes for 2018!”
1. An increase in age limit
Often, pageants that promote education and empowerment end at age 24 or 25. But not Miss Black US Ambassador. Instead, pageant officials have increased the age limit to 29 in 2018!
2. The addition of more regional titles
Sometimes just getting to participate in a pageant is hard because of your location, but Miss Black US Ambassador has added more title opportunities to open more doors to participants.
“We have increased our age limit to 29 and added 13 regional titles to allow for more amazing girls and women to participate in the mentorship, personal development and community building work that is central to [Miss Black US Ambassador,” Harrison said.
3. Changes to the scholarship award
Education is often the first step toward creating change and empowering others. You cannot change something if you don’t know what is going on or how to go about starting the change.
(Photo Credit - Miss Black US Ambassador Facebook Official)
“Empowering our young Black women begins with creating the opportunity for them to be leaders and providing capital to fund dreams,” Harrison said. “While education is and will always be vital, scholarships are not the only mechanisms to support the advancement of the young women of today.”
He then continued, “Starting this year, our national title winners will have the option to use their prize winnings towards a scholarship, school loan repayment or as seed money to help start their own business,” Harrison described.
Unlike many scholarship awards, you can apply the one from Miss Black US Ambassador toward student loan payments, which is important to many post-graduate contestants, or to start your own business, helping to grow the entrepreneurial spirit in the U.S.
“These changes are in line with the vision of AOC as we seek to expand our impact and equip women of color to live outside the box,” Harrison stated.
The Miss Black US Ambassador and Miss Black Teen US Ambassador Scholarship Pageant, programs of Ambassadors of Change Inc., exist to give a once in a lifetime opportunity to young African American women. As Ambassadors of Change, each young woman embarks on the journey to encourage, empower, and enlighten communities, states, and nations. These young women are a rising voice in the community that seeks to make a difference, by providing educational forums and events that focus on health disparities, poverty, violence and major issues plaguing the African American community. They are role models not only for young African American women but to women around the world. Ambassadors of Change partner with key political figures and national initiatives to bring support to their efforts and platforms.
The Miss Black US Ambassador experience is more than a competition. It’s a scholarship program that gives 365 days of support and resources to communities in need. A platform for today’s savvy, intelligent and socially aware women of color to express their educated viewpoints, demonstrate their extraordinary talents and showcase not just their pretty face, but their gorgeous mind. The crowned national Ambassadors receive scholarship opportunities to further their education.