It’s officially pageant season at several HBCUs this spring. Miss Black and Gold, Miss Kappa Alpha Psi, and the Miss Spelman pageant at Spelman College, TikTok’s latest obsession, have taken center stage. The Miss Spelman College pageant has gained a widespread audience on TikTok due to contestants viral videos, with many of the viewers coming from outside the HBCU space. The winner is set to be announced on April 14.
Not only is the Miss Spelman pageant taking place at Spelman College, but the Miss Black and Gold and Miss Afrolatinidad pageants are currently going on as well. Seven beautiful women are vying for the title of Miss Spelman, each going viral on TikTok for their distinguished introductions. Many people have expressed how the pageant is their latest guilty pleasure, taking up all of their time. A Threads user posted how the pageant has her “in a chokehold” on TikTok, also expressing a particular liking to contestant number 4, Aliyah Harps.
“Your search for the queen is officially done,” expressed contestant No. 4, Aziyah, a junior political science major from Atlanta. “Because, like my institution, I come second to none.”
Contestant number 6, Madison Mobley, is also a fan favorite.
“Slow and steady, that’s how queens are made,” asserted Madison, a third-year English major at the all-women’s HBCU. “So I’ve just been patiently waiting, but finally, it’s my moment. Oh, and trust me, I’m about to own it.”
A cultural staple since the inception of the institutions, pageants at HBCUs are a long-standing tradition that other people now get a chance to enjoy. One questioned why this area of pageantry is only now being known to the general public.
“How am I supposed to get anything done?” questioned enthused TikToker Suzanne Lambert. “And what I want to know is why has no one made a show about this yet?”
She added, “This is my version of March Madness right now.”
One TikToker stated this is the type of content that should be shared on TikTok. She even went as far as calling the pageant “ encouraging” since it promotes Black excellence.
“This pageant reveal was giving ‘School Daze’ in the best way possible. If you know, you know,” shared TikToker Courthouse Couture. “And all of the energy that I have spent on Bama rush and breaking that down should be spent on this pageant.”
Many people have compared the pageant TikTok to Bama Rush TikTok, a trend that went viral not too long ago. ‘Bama Rush’ is the process of college freshmen at the University of Alabama joining sororities on campus. This event was even turned into a documentary by Max in 2023.
The post HBCU pageant culture at Spelman goes viral on TikTok appeared first on ClutchPoints.
