Ashli Morris, a junior political science major from Athens, was crowned Miss Black and Gold from the Alabama District during the Miss Alabama Black and Gold Alabama District pageant on Saturday, Nov. 5, in Montgomery.
The Miss Black and Gold Alabama District pageant is the second competition in the Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant, run by the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
Contestants competing in the Miss Black and Gold Alabama District pageant must first win the Miss Black and Gold pageant on their collegiate level.
Morris said she is honored to represent Troy’s Alpha Phi Alpha chapter and to be the female representative for the Alabama District for a year.
“I get to participate with the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity through community service projects, outreach projects, and things of that nature, and really just be a positive role model from a female standpoint for the fraternity,” Morris said. “I’m definitely excited about that.”
Morris said she views winning the Miss Black and Gold Alabama District pageant as carrying on a “legacy.”
“For Troy’s chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Inc., this is the second time that a young lady representing this chapter has ever won the Miss Black and Gold Alabama District pageant, and the last one was last year,” Morris said. “For me, there was a lot of pressure to win.
“Of course I wanted to win, though, because I wanted to carry out that legacy. For me, it’s really exciting because I feel like I am a part of creating some sort of a tradition for this chapter of the fraternity.”
The Miss Black and Gold Alabama District is set up similarly to other Alabama preliminary pageants, like the Miss Alabama or the Miss Troy pageants. The competition is separated into five parts, and the winner is chosen based on her overall performance in all five categories.
The contestants have a personal interview with the judges on the morning of the pageant, Nov. 5. That night, they perform an opening number and introduce themselves, after which they answer an onstage question and compete in a swimsuit round, a talent portion, and an evening wear round.
Morris will be competing at the Miss Black and Gold pageant on the Southern regional level, dubbed “Alpha South,” in Raleigh, North Carolina, in March.
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