Enter Miss Thang by Brian Edwards

Author:Brian Edwards [Edwards, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781480801738
Publisher: ArchwayPublishing
Published: 2013-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

Two generations of Williams divas at Miss Helen’s seventieth birthday party held at 42 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in White Plains, New York. (December 8, 2009) Photo: Scott Jones, courtesy of Mellian Group Archives.

The next day, the contestants were sprawled all over the Boardwalk area, coming and going for photo ops, press activities, and the like. I happened to see Vanessa briefly and was able to say hello to her and shake her hand. There were about a dozen people swarming around her, but she looked each and every one of us in the eye and made us feel like we were the only ones standing there. Little did I know that that brief encounter was sparking the beginning of a friendship that has lasted for more than thirty years.

It was apparent to anyone at the Atlantic City Convention Hall during rehearsals and preliminaries that there was no shortage of talent among the contestants competing for the title of Miss America 1984. The two contestants who stood out far from the pack were Vanessa Williams and Suzette Charles, Miss New Jersey—two incredibly talented and beautiful black women. Up to that point, only three black women had made it into the top ten at Miss America: Deborah Lipford, Miss Delaware, in 1976; Doris Hayes, Miss Washington, in 1980; and Lencola Sullivan, Miss Arkansas, in 1980 (who also shattered another racial barrier by making the top five in being named third runner-up). Still, no black woman had ever been crowned Miss America.

I was fortunate enough to have made the right connections with two security guards who let Kirk and me in each day for sound checks and rehearsals. Miss Thang knows how to charm the pants off a man in uniform, honey! And from the moment Vanessa stepped foot on that stage, her grace and elegance commanded the attention of everyone in Convention Hall. She eloquently belted out a powerful rendition of “Happy Days Are Here Again” that was truly mesmerizing. (I must admit, I still occasionally stand in front of the mirror with a hairbrush, lip-syncing her version just for the hell of it.) The way Vanessa carried herself and interacted with the musical director gave the impression that she was already a Broadway star, perhaps making an appearance as a special guest performer for the pageant rather than as a contestant. I just knew history was about to be made!

As I left Convention Hall, I was floating on cloud nine, but Kirk kept telling me not to get my hopes up, because the chances of a black woman winning the title of Miss America were slim that year. We met up with a few folks from the Miss Louisiana pageant who had just arrived in town, and went to grab a snack.

They all agreed with each other, saying that Miss Mississippi, Wanda Gayle Geddie, or Miss Alabama, Pam Battles, would surely end up winning, but such talk was starting to piss me off. Earlier that summer, I had thrown a

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