WS Chronicle

As part of the city’s Juneteenth Celebration, on Friday, June 14, Triad Cultural Arts hosted the 3rd Annual Queen Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant at Paisley Middle School. 

Since 2022 Triad Cultural Arts has partnered with Heritage 365 and the Royal Curtain Drama Guild to host the pageant. The mission of the scholarship pageant is to acknowledge the importance of Juneteenth and empower, elevate, and excel young women of color. 

For entry into the pageant, contestants must have a 2.5 GPA or higher, plan to attend a historically Black college or university (HBCU), have an interest in leadership, have a desire to serve in the community, and be of good character. 

Leading up to the pageant contestants are required to participate in community service, fundraising, and attend weekend workshops. The workshops focus on several different topics and themes including, social and emotional learning, planning for an HBCU experience, social justice, leadership and financial freedom, and etiquette and style. 

The winner of the pageant, Queen Juneteenth, will receive a $30,000 tuition scholarship. Each participant is also encouraged to raise a minimum of $100 and any amount exceeding $600 will entitle them to receive 50% of the additional funds raised. This ensures that participants not only gain memorable experiences but also secure financial assistance towards their academic and personal journey. Collectively, this year contestants will receive about $20,000 in scholarship funds. 

“This is more than a pageant,” said Malishai Woodbury, Forsyth County Commissioner, and pageant organizer during the Juneteenth Festival. “We spend over six months helping develop  these young women through community service, educational workshops and we make sure they understand their culture.” 

A panel of judges rated contestants on how they performed during the workshops and during the pageant, which consisted of the Business Look Competition and the Evening Gown Competition. During the pageant, contestants also had the opportunity to show off their acting skills by participating in a theatrical performance that gave some background on Juneteenth. 

After much anticipation, in the end, Aliyah Copeland was crowned 2024 Queen Juneteenth. Copeland, who attends Mount Tabor, has ambitions of becoming a communications director for the federal government. 

First runner-up (Ms. Sankofa) was awarded to Lauryn Thacker, second runner-up (Ms. Kumba) was awarded to Jada Richardson, third runner-up (Ms. Nia) was awarded to Charli Hicks and fourth runner-up was awarded to Destiny Jordan. 

Other contestants in the 2024 Queen Juneteenth Pageant were; Kyndall Johnson, Jordyn Crawford, Jakayla Jackson, Anaya Edwards, Ariana Plater-Payne, Mia Yarborough, Dazhia Rouson, Ariaunna Holder, and Mariah Perry. 

For more information on the Queen Juneteenth Scholarship Pageant visit https://triadculturalarts.org/index.php/queen-juneteenth-scholarship/.