The biracial winner of a University of Texas beauty contest has been accused of being “too light” to compete in — let alone win — a pageant for black women.
Rachael Malonson, 22, was crowned Miss Black University of Texas this year, drawing backlash on social media over the color of her skin.
Malonson, whose father is black and mother is white, said this isn’t the first time she’s felt insecure about her skin color.
“It’s something I have dealt with my whole life. ‘Am I black enough? Am I even black?'” she told the Daily News.
Kappa Alpha Psi, a predominantly black fraternity at the University of Texas, has hosted the pageant for 35 years. Contestants are judged on a variety of criteria, including their appearance. But looks aren’t all that matters in the scholarship pageant, Malonson said.
“It’s a pageant for black women and empowerment. We had to express ourselves through a monologue in the beginning and had to keep up with the news daily. It’s all about black men in a community coming together to empower black women.” she said. “They want to show that we are more than just a pretty face.”
Each entrant ran on a platform, Malonson said. Hers aimed to “breakdown the stereotype that the African American community is built on a single story.”
The pageant is open to black women and includes entrants who are mixed-race.
Some criticized Malonson for being “too light” to win. “Of course they picked the lightest biracial girl to win,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Ok so I did my creeping on ol girl who won that black pageant…she shouldn’t have won,” said another.
Malonson said she was unfazed by the backlash.
“They were not at the pageant,” she said of people who posted comments on social media. “They don’t know what I put into it so it’s not fair to say it was based on how I look. If they had been there, then it would be different,” she said.
Others criticized the fraternity for hosting a contest that excluded white women in the first place.
“Tell me, is there a #MissWhiteUT2017 pageant? Or would a pageant that excluded blacks be considered #Racist?” a Twitter user wrote.
Malonson said she’s long struggled with her racial identity. “I can remember from the age of nine people were constantly asking me if I was Hispanic. They said, ‘she doesn’t look the way black people look.’ People asked me so often and I would even question ‘am I Hispanic?'”
Nonetheless, she’s proud of her victory, and hopes to inspire confidence in other biracial women.
“This has given me a bigger platform to address the issue and show that there is an issue going on in the community about color, or not being accepted because we don’t look the way we should.”