The state pageant has a long history of providing opportunities for young, black women
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – June 19, 2010
The 41st Miss Black Oklahoma state pageant took place Saturday, June 19th, 2010 at Douglas High School in Oklahoma City. This year’s winner was Evey Exantus, a sophomore at the University of Central Oklahoma and a native of Florida.
Mrs. Clara Luper, a known civil rights leader, founded the Pageant for African American Women in 1970 when she realized that beauty comes in all shades and sizes and should be celebrated. The organization was founded during a time when major state pageants didn’t welcome Black participants due to racism. Since its creation, the pageant has been providing young African American women with the opportunity to showcase their beauty, talent, and service within their communities.
Mrs. Luper’s vision is that this competition will provide a platform that gives back by teaching self-respect and development in areas such as academic performance and community involvement through social causes.
Evey lives in Edmond with her family and majors in Interpersonal Communications. Her platform is to raise awareness of human trafficking throughout the state. She partners with OATH (Oklahomans Against Trafficking Humans), whose purpose is to identify human trafficking through training law enforcement and youth services to stop the trafficking of women and children.
Her talent for the evening was singing a rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”.
“My hope is to bring awareness to this devastating issue throughout the state and nation so that no child will ever be taken advantage of again,” Exantus said.
