Tuskegee University will honor all 95 past and present Miss Tuskegee campus queens during the university’s 100th anniversary homecoming this week.
In honor of Tuskegee’s centennial homecoming celebration, Andscape spoke with several women who have worn the Miss Tuskegee crown.
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity. Born and raised in Tuskegee, Alabama, Faye Hall Jackson is the daughter of two Tuskegee graduates. During her campaign, her family and local community rallied around her, doing her hair, helping her get her Tuskegee Gala dress and loaning her accessories for the pageant. Jackson also pledged the Theta Beta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. at Tuskegee in the fall of 1982. Jackson is the last Miss Tuskegee Institute – Tuskegee changed its name to Tuskegee University the following fall in 1985.
The chapter decided somebody was going to run for Miss Tuskegee. … In the ’70s there was another Zeta, Thelma Eaton. She was Miss Tuskegee (1978-1979), and in their mind, it was time for Zeta to be represented as Miss Tuskegee [again]. [My sorority sisters] went around and gathered the signatures and came back and reported to me they would put [my] name up: “You’re running.”
That was how it happened. I did not grow up in pageants. I was the reader, the thinker. They came up with the slogan “Faye Hall, the best of them all” and made flyers and balloons. The campaign period was nothing like what it is now. It was very simple … having balloons was above and beyond.
I did feel that it was challenging a part of me that I had not awakened, so in preparation I had one friend who taught me how to walk and wave. When the votes were counted, a flood of people came out of Logan Hall. It was a high moment. … I really appreciated that because I think you never really know who is in your corner, and you don’t really know the lives that you touch and the impact that you’re making.
How did you wear the crown and want your reign to be remembered?
I wore it as a reminder to continue to do the right thing, and I think I also wore it as a reminder that people are watching. Even when you don’t think individuals are watching, you still do the right thing – not because they’re watching, but because it is the right thing to do.
Being a local Miss Tuskegee was very special, too, because sometimes local people get a bad rap. It was a badge of honor to square up and say, “I am local.” I wore [the crown] realizing that it wasn’t just me. There were so many others that pushed it forward, and I got to wear the crown on behalf of them.
How was the experience of being Miss Tuskegee during homecoming?
There was more fanfare. Every game you walk around, there are alumni. In hindsight, I know that to somebody, to those that were watching, that was a high point to see Miss Tuskegee perfectly clothed. Individually, being a Miss Tuskegee, giving service and uplifting the university and the community, that was a higher point of privilege. … I am the last Miss Tuskegee Institute because that fall [in 1985] we became Tuskegee University. So that piece did not fall deaf on my ears, being the bookend to that piece in history and ushering in the next trajectory of the legacy. That was important to me.
Natalie Knight can’t recall a moment where Tuskegee University wasn’t part of her upbringing. Knight is a native of Tuskegee, Alabama. She was born on campus when Tuskegee had a hospital, all of her childhood summer programs took place on campus and she majored in plant and soil science at Tuskegee. Before running for Miss Tuskegee, she was a member of Tuskegee’s Marching Crimson Piper Band as an alto saxophone player. She pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. while running for Miss Tuskegee.
Why did you decide to run for Miss Tuskegee?
I don’t like when people say that I can’t do something. A guy that was in the band with me told me I couldn’t do it. So I was like, “Yes, I can,” and I ran. … I don’t think there had been a member of the [band] that had won Miss Tuskegee in a while. People were used to seeing me in a grungy, sweaty band uniform. Normally, there were our [Tuskegee] Piperettes, who were gracious and graceful, that ran. … That was [also] one of the reasons that I did it, to show girls who probably didn’t see themselves in that role that they could do it. I was lucky enough that I ran with a number of other girls who were just like me, [who] didn’t see themselves in that traditional role. We all proved to other girls that, yes, you can be that person, too.
When I won, I am not one to celebrate things in front of people. … I immediately thought about the ladies behind me because I’m not going to celebrate something when I know some other folks who wanted something really badly wanted it, too. But I immediately looked at my mom, my grandmother and my dad, and I just said, “Thank you.”
What was your favorite memory as Miss Tuskegee?
I actually adopted the freshman class of ’99 as my class. I did a lot of programming with them, and I got to know as many freshmen as I could. Every year I was at Tuskegee, I would take on a male and a female freshman and just mentor them. Mentorship has always been something that’s really important to me.
Other memorable parts were honestly the games. I grew up going to the games as a kid and [enjoyed] just being able to represent the university as its ambassador, especially at our away games, being able to speak on behalf of the university to tell our story. Students who are from Tuskegee – there was a stigma about Tuskegee locals – and being able to represent not only the university but the city was a complete honor for me, very similar to me now being on the board of trustees, being able to help bridge that gap with the university and the city. My very first home game, I actually cried because I wanted to march so badly. I missed marching in the band.
What does it take to be Miss Tuskegee and represent the university?
Miss Tuskegee is a sacrifice of your senior year. You aren’t able to do everything that your classmates are able to do because you have commitments. You aren’t able to be at every party. You aren’t able to be at every event or game. … I missed out on a lot. Do I regret it? Absolutely not!
Just the community that I grew up in in Tuskegee, they taught us a lot about how we present ourselves. But I take all of that with me now in my current career. I’m a lobbyist. Everything that I learned, all of my skills that I had and learned from Miss Tuskegee as being our ambassador, I take that with me, meeting with world leaders, governors, presidents. I know how to do that because I had to do that as Miss Tuskegee.
Joy Henderson was encouraged by her Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters to run for Miss Tuskegee. Her campaign was Christmas themed, and in addition to creating T-shirts, banners and yard signs, she also met with all of the organizations on campus. During her reign, her favorite moments were volunteering at a local nursing home and participating in the homecoming tailgate at Tuskegee.
Can you describe your emotions after being crowned?
My story is a little bit interesting. The night of my Miss Tuskegee pageant, the person who actually won runner-up was announced as Miss Tuskegee. They made a mistake. It was a Steve Harvey.
Part of the pageant [contestants] do a speech, and it’s timed. If you go over your time, you get docked points, right? Half your points get docked. So the person who went in front of me, they didn’t restart the clock when it was my time. Her speech was really short. It wasn’t over time, but they didn’t restart the clock, so they combined her time and my time for the speeches. … I got docked over half of my speech points, which only gave me [a] tie for first. … When you have a tie for first … well, the next week, you have a meeting with the administration, and once they told us what happened, we were able to say, “Well, no, we didn’t go over.” … Long story short, they found a video, timed and realized they made a mistake. It took a summer for them to figure out what to do, but they ended up giving me the crown, and all the things that come with it.
How would you describe being Miss Tuskegee during homecoming?
The energy is undeniable. I think I have really good relationships with the students and administration. So when you walk out on that field and your parents are beside you, they’re just super proud in that moment. All your friends and all the student body is cheering for you and chanting and shouting your name. It’s hard to describe that moment.
How important is the role of Miss Tuskegee to the campus and alumni community?
I did not know how important Miss Tuskegee was until I had a chance to actually venture out into the community and see the level of love, respect and pride the alumni and people in the community have for their queen. It is humbling and a push to greatness all at the same time. Miss Tuskegee is not just a title or a public figure. She is a friend, a nostalgic reminder of times past while also being hope for the future. She is a voice, and she is an inspiration.
Courtney Alexis Landrum, a Greenville, Alabama, native, juggled being the 89th Miss Tuskegee and her classwork as an occupational therapy major. During her reign, Landrum, who goes by her middle name, advocated for an increased budget and additional advisory board support for Miss Tuskegee. Landrum’s Miss Tuskegee platform was “Creating Your MasterPIECE,” which encouraged students to embrace their individuality.
Why did you decide to run for Miss Tuskegee?
What really triggered it was me meeting Tequiles Celestin (Miss Tuskegee 2014-2015). When I met her, I just saw how nice she was, how welcoming she was. She didn’t even know me. I was a 17-year-old girl at this huge event, and her pointing me out, being nice, giving me advice, telling me about her experience at Tuskegee, I was like,” I’m going to be just like her. I want to be that person who girls can go to for an encouraging word.” … When I met her, I wasn’t even enrolled yet. I was still in high school, so I told myself, “Yeah, I’m gonna run for that. That’s gonna be me.” Especially given the family ties that I had to the school, how much pride and love I had for Tuskegee. I was like, “That’s my mission.”
What was your favorite memory as Miss Tuskegee?
Just hearing that I won was extremely surreal, because during my time at Tuskegee, … there were a lot of different things that I went out for that I did not get. I didn’t have, like, a cookie-cutter experience. … Even though I knew my relationship with the student body, I knew how hard I was going in my campaign, I still wasn’t 100% like, “Oh, I know I got this in the bag.” I was still working as hard as I could to make sure that I got this because I’ve been let down before with other positions and other situations. So that is a moment that I will never forget.
What does it take to be Miss Tuskegee and represent the university?
It takes a lot of courage to be the face and the representation of such a prestigious university. Anybody running for this position has to have some type of courage or courageous spirit. … But it also takes someone who’s humble because there are many opportunities to be arrogant … there are many opportunities for you to get the big head and to really be a leader. You have to learn how to be humble.
We are a part of the big and huge legacy of Tuskegee alongside those amazing, distinguished men and women, so it’s truly an honor. You kind of go through a little bit of imposter syndrome to think that you’re a part of that history, but at the end of the day, it’s truly an honor to even be considered a part of this amazing university in the history and the legacy of Tuskegee.
Makyla Johnson said she didn’t consider herself a “pageant girl” but decided to spend her college years seeking new opportunities. She is a first-generation college student, and she chose Tuskegee because it offered a sales and marketing major. Johnson’s campaign theme, “Tuskegee Diaries,” was inspired by the Princess Diaries movies. Similar to the movie, she hosted a Princess Pajama Palooza party where she gave away a $500 scholarship to a fellow Tuskegee student. Memorable moments of her reign thus far include renovating the lounge space in the Younge Hall dormitory and awarding three additional scholarships to her classmates.
How do you want your reign to set the stage for the next generation of Tuskegee queens?
Before actually starting the reign in the summer, [we] wanted a name for the royal court, so we came up with the name Everlasting Reign. That basically just means that our reign lasts far beyond our years being here and just setting that example of leadership, service, knowledge, royalty, poise and being confident. Be understanding that no matter the background you come from, you can do anything that you put your mind to. So just being a first-generation college student coming from a low-income background and really making things happen, and being confident in myself no matter what hardships I face, that’s what I want the next Miss Tuskegee and all of the Miss Tuskegees to remember. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to try and give it your best, and everything else will work itself out.
How meaningful is it that you get to be Miss Tuskegee the university is celebrating its centennial homecoming?
It’s very meaningful to me because I didn’t think that far when I attended Tuskegee. I didn’t think that I would be graduating, that it would be the centennial homecoming or that I’d be the 95th Miss Tuskegee University. So it’s just, like, every single year it’s proven exactly why I chose Tuskegee University. This is exactly why God put me at Tuskegee University because every year has poured into the next, and now that I’m here for the centennial homecoming, it’s like, “Wow. This is history, and I’m a part of it.”
What are you looking forward to the most for the centennial homecoming?
What I’m looking forward to the most is definitely the “White Out” [football] game. But I’m also looking forward to just seeing the lineage of Miss Tuskegee and understanding why they ran for the position, how their reigns were, what they look for to continue the legacy. I have a reign until May. I really just bond with those that came before me because they paved the way for me, and I really want to see them.