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Critics Question the Blackness of Biracial Miss Black University of Texas

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Rachael Malonson, Miss Black University of Texas, has struggled with her racial identity.(@rachael212 /Instagram)

The biracial winner of the Miss Black University of Texas pageant isn’t letting questions surrounding the worthiness of her title hold her back.

Rachael Malonson, a senior, decided to take part in the Sunday, April 30, competition in order to “gain a deeper inner confidence” before graduation, she told USA Today College.

“I wasn’t sure if I would even place in the pageant because I wasn’t sure they would think I was ‘Black enough,’ ” Malonson said.

The 22-year-old, whose father is Black and mother is white, participated in the event put on by Black fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi. When she was crowned the winner, her friends and loved ones applauded her on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/The_Ambeezy/status/859523308617949189

https://twitter.com/yung__megatron/status/858924702496169984

https://twitter.com/kyliekapri/status/858927877693349889

But negativity quickly flooded her timeline when some questioned if she was dark enough to wear the crown.

“I didn’t realize that, even after I received the title, I would still have to explain myself, that there was still ignorant people out there who are asking me to prove myself,” Malonson told Fox News. “Just because I have straight hair and olive skin tone doesn’t mean I’m not Black.

“I don’t have to look a certain way to be Black.”

Some defended the journalism major, who also is the vice president of UT’s National Association of Black Journalists.

https://twitter.com/avuitton_/status/859590803890601985

Malonson decided to focus on the positivity on Twitter.

Malonson, who told the Daily Texan she has long struggled with her racial identity, now says she embraces her straight locks and light skin tone.

“I’m confident in it now and see it as a unique trait where I’m able to teach people that not every Black person [and] not every mixed person looks the same way.”

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