Alpha Phi Alpha Miss Black and Gold crowned

As a reward for more than 200 hours of community service, junior Jade McDonald was crowned the 2012 Alpha Phi Alpha Miss Black and Gold, beating 11 other women at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Sunday.

Andrea Williams, 2010 Miss Black and Gold winner, and Wesley McKinney, Alpha Phi Alpha historian, were the hosts of the event.

“I want to wish them my blessing and the best of luck,” event coordinator Adrian Love said. “I have seen them work hard, and I have witnessed them grow in friendship and love for one another and for others.”

Beginning the pageant with the Alpha Phi Alpha step, the women moved in sync across the stage to present themselves as participants of the pageant before introducing themselves as individuals.

The women introduced themselves to the audience and to the judges with short speeches, trying to make their voices stand out in everyone’s mind.

The contestants danced, sang and performed brief dramatic scenes. Pearl Scott, one of the singers, performed “When You Believe” by Mariah Carey.

“It was a truly beautiful rendition,” McKinney said.

Following the talent display was the swimsuit portion, which had been recently added to the pageant by the Alpha Phi Alpha brothers.

“Tonight, the ladies are going to amaze you with their poise and ability to think on their feet,” said Jefferey Williams, another coordinator of the event.

The crowd erupted as each woman walked out on stage with poise and confidence, sporting the swimsuits that they had chosen to showcase that evening.

“Now these girls make it look easy to step out on stage in a swimsuit,” Andrea Williams said. “They have to overcome their fears of the stage and work it like they are flawless. I commend them for a job well done.”

The contestants wrapped up the evening with a showcase of formal gowns.

The women lit up the stage with sparkling Jovani dresses and awed the crowd, from which murmurs of appreciation could be heard, with their splendor.

Each woman had her chance to display her gown and talent, and then the top five were announced: juniors Lalah Hazelwood, Kiona Ewing, Janna Zimmerman and McDonald, along with freshman Kala Majors.

To eliminate two more women, the pageant had each contestant answer a question randomly chosen from a fishbowl. The contestant who had the best answer would receive five additional points to her score.

Zimmerman was asked how she would describe beauty to a blind man.

“If I had to describe beauty to a blind man, I would say that beauty isn’t something that is seen,” Zimmerman said as the crowd applauded in response. “It is something that is felt. Beauty is not skin deep, it comes from within.”

After all had answered their questions, the judges took a brief minute to confer and choose the winners.

Third-place Miss Black was awarded to Hazelwood, who also won the Best Talent Award, and second-place Miss Gold was awarded to Ewing.

McDonald stood gracefully and waved good night to the crowd as she accepted the first-place Miss Black and Gold title.

McDonald will now go on to compete in the pageant at the district level with a chance to continue to regional and national competitions.