Miss America talks about being Korean American and representing

Korean American Emma Broyles was crowned Miss America Thursday.

As Miss Alaska, Emma  Broyles is the first Korean American to win the Miss America competition Thursday in the pageant's 100-year history.

"Being the first Korean Miss America, that we know of, is really cool because I think about when I was younger and I was growing up and not really seeing Korean women who looked like me in popular media," says Broyles, 20 in an interview with People. "I remember I was ashamed of my heritage and I was avoiding embracing it at all costs.

"Now that I'm older, I've really been able to embrace my ethnicity and embrace my background, embrace the journey that my grandparents made 50 or so years ago," she continues. "And I think that having a woman who's kind of an underdog — being only 20 from Alaska and being half-Korean — is representative of all that Miss America stands for."

Broyles, 20, is a Service High School graduate in Anchorage and currently in her junior year at the Honors College at Arizona State University where she’s majoring in biomedical studies and minoring in voice performance, according to the Miss America Organization.

Broyles said being crowned Miss America is “an incredible dream come true,” according to a statement announcing her win from the organization.

"I hope at least one person out there feels like they can see themselves in me and feel inspired," she said.

In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, her hometown newspaper, she was asked about her Korean heritage and family.

"Being what we know of to be the first Miss America of Korean descent is another really cool thing because I think it represents all of the the positive change that we’ve seen in Miss America in the past 100 years," Broyles told the ADN.

"I mean, even just in the past decade, we’ve seen such a diverse group of Miss Americas, and to be representing Asians all over the United States is a really, really cool and a really special moment for me.

"My grandparents, they came to America about 50 years ago — right before my mom was born — with this idea that they wanted their kids to be able to live that American Dream and have every opportunity possible. They actually moved straight to Anchorage, Alaska, so they’ve been here for quite a while, which is why my family has our roots in Anchorage, Alaska, and all of their other family members came from Korea to Anchorage, Alaska.

"So I have a huge Korean family in Anchorage, and it’s really, really neat because my grandpa was actually the president of the Korean Alaskan organization.

"And it was a really cool win for my grandparents as well, I think, to see their Korean granddaughter making strides and being in a competition like Miss America. And you know, there were so many other Koreans on that stage with me, which — it was a really cool experience, and I feel so grateful for my heritage and for the ability to represent other Korean Americans all across the country. And I think my grandparents are especially grateful and especially excited.

“As a Korean American, I am so grateful for the opportunity to compete alongside so many brilliant, talented women,” she said. “I hope to live up to the legacy, serve as a positive role model for women of all ages and make the Miss America Organization proud. It’s been an honor to represent the great state of Alaska and I look forward to making a significant impact through my social impact initiative on the national stage.”

For winning the Miss America crown, Broyles, a first-year student at Arizona State University, will get a $100,000 scholarship and earn a six-figure salary during her one-year reign.

The Miss America pageant, which has moved away from the emphasis on physical appearance to placing more importance on leadership, talent and communication skills, was not held last year because of the pandemic and it wasn't held for several years in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It was moved from its traditional site in Atlantic City, N.J. and held at the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. 

Broyles is unusual among pageant winners in that she openly talks about her flaws.  "I think that people tend to put Miss America on this pedestal and say, 'Wow... she's living this fabulous, glamorous life.'"

During the contest, she told the judges and audience that she wants people to view Miss America as real person. Broyles revealed that she has ADHD and suffers from a form of OCD. "I am real. I have flaws... and because of that, I am a better person."

First Asian American Miss America joins calls for pageant CEO's resignation

Angela Baraquio-Grey in San Pedro, Calif. during a recent book tour.

MISS AMERICA CEO Sam Haskell resigned after 50 past Miss Americas, including Angela Baraquio-Grey, the first Asian/American pageant winner, called for his resignation after crude emails were revealed.

In 2001, Baraquio-Grey, a Filipina/American who represented Hawaii, became the first Asian/American to win the pageant.

The Huffington Post reported Haskell regularly fat shamed and slut shamed former Miss Americas.

According to the Huff Post, one email chain went like this (Caution, it includes offensive language):

“I have decided that when referring to a woman who was once Miss America, we are no longer going to call them Forever Miss Americas….please change all script copy to reflect that they are Former Miss Americas!” wrote Haskell in an email in 2014 to lead pageant writer Lewis Friedman.

Friendman replied “I’d already changed “Forevers” to “Cunts.” Does that work for you?”

Haskell responded “Perfect…bahahaha.”

Angela Baraquio-Grey won the Miss America title in 20001

After consultations with the other Forever Miss America's, Baraquio-Grey posted on her Facebook page:

"We denounce the derogatory statements made about us and our sisterhood. No one embodies the values we hold dear, better than the 'Forever' Miss Americas. No one wants to harm the pageant. That part has already been done and no more needs to be said no matter how you spin it."

It was announced Saturday (Dec. 23) that three Miss America Organization leaders have resigned because of the email revelations. i

The resignation of Haskell, who was suspended from the organization Friday as he was put under investigation, will be effective immediately, according to a statement from interim chairman Dan Meyers.

The board further accepted the resignation of chairman Lynn Weidner along with President and Chief Operating Officer Josh Randle. 

(AsAm News contributed to this report)

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Miss America can no longer ignore diversity

This year's Miss America contestants of Asian descent are, from top left clockwise: Miss Arizona MaddieRose Holler, Miss Florida Sarah Zeng,  Miss Pennsylvania  Katie Schreckengast and Miss Hawaii  Kathryn Teruya

MISS AMERICA tries very hard to stay out of any controversy so as a policy, organizers have chosen to take a color-blind approach to diversity.

But in a country with a changing population, and a surging white nationalist movement seeking to protect its position of power and privilege, race is kind of hard to ignore even in a contest that tries so hopes that by ignoring the topic, it will simply go away.

Unfortunately, when a contestant for the coveted title of Miss America is not white, there is always a backlash from that segment of society who still think of our country as a "white" country and would like to keep it that way.

In fact, until very recently, the Miss America organization had a list of rules that governed the contest and contestants and one of the rules said that contestants had to be ‘of the white race,’” said Blain Roberts, associate professor of history at Fresno State and the author of Pageants, Parlors, and Pretty Women: Race and Beauty in the Twentieth-Century South. “And that was on the books for quite a while.”

It wasn’t until 1983, when the organization crowned its first African/American Miss America, Vanessa Williams. In 2001, the organization crowned its first Asian-American Miss America, Angela Perez Baraquio, a Filipino/American who represented Hawaii.

Both of those women were subject to racist comments.

"America’s cultural melting pot has been evolving for years, and the Miss America pageant is relevant to the changing demographics in the U.S. because it is slowly catching up to reflect that diversity in its winners. America has already begun to accept and embrace different versions of beauty, and that is a noteworthy victory in itself," Baraquio told NBC.

Since then, other women of color have won the title and scholarship that goes along with it.

Most recently, Nina Davuluri was the first Indian/American to be crowned Miss America for 2014 When she won, Twitter lit up with comments suggesting she was an Arab, a foreigner, and a terrorist with ties to Al Qaeda.

Perhaps it was no coincidence that both Baraquio and Davuluri had themes of diversity that they promoted during their year-long reigns.

This Sunday, at least four Asian/American women will be on the stage: Miss Arizona MaddieRose Holler, Miss Hawaii Katheryn Teruya, Miss Florida Sarah Zeng and Miss Pennsylvania Katie Schreckengast.

Oddly, only MaddieRose Holler has publicly stated her ethnic heritage as a daughter of Filipina mother. The other contestants were surmised to be of Asian descent by their appearances or their name.

While there may be a strong argument that Miss America has lost its relevancy and should be dismissed for objectifying women, but we cannot deny that it is still a cultural touchstone that helps define what is beauty and who is seen as American.

If Miss America wants to embrace the entire rainbow of America, instead of ignoring the women's ethnic heritage, maybe it is time for the pageant to join our country's current - uh, discussion, of diversity. Race (still) matters.

"I hope that in the next decade, as the pageant nears its 100th anniversary in 2021, more women of different ethnicities begin to emerge as the new faces of American beauty," said Baraquio.

These days, the "girl next door" could very well be a woman of color.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier versions of this post misidentified Miss Pennsylvania as Miss Philadelphia. Our sincere apologies for this oversight.

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