Miss USA 2016: Deshauna Barber Faces Racist Backlash After Pageant Win
Miss USA 2016 Deshauna Barber is facing some racist backlash after her historic pageant win recently.
When she was crowned Miss USA, Barber became the first military officer to win the title.
As Fusion reports, Deshauna is the Logistics Commander for the 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit at Fort Meade. She was perfectly poised to answer the question that a pageant judge asked her during the competition about women serving at all levels of the military.
“The Pentagon recently made the decision to open up all combat jobs to women,” judge Joe Zee said to a smiling Deshauna Barber. “Now some have questioned whether this has put political correctness over our military’s ability to perform at the highest level. What are you thoughts?”
“We are just as tough as men,” she said. “As a commander of my unit, I am powerful, I am dedicated, and it is important that we recognize that gender does not limit us in the United States Army.”
The Washington Post reports that Deshauna Barber joined the military at the age of 17, following a family tradition. Her father served in Iraq and was deployed following the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
“I consider it to be a family tradition,” she said in a pre-show interview. “It’s something that runs through our veins — patriotism and service for this country.”
But the fact that Barber is in the military didn’t sway the racists who objected to her win because of her skin color.
The Fusion article posted some of the most offensive tweets and Facebook comments.
Special congratulations to the New @MissUSA#DeshaunaBarber@realmissdcusa.. so excited for you and your win.. #DMVpic.twitter.com/avsuVFnfUt
— Traci Braxton (@TraciBraxton) June 6, 2016
But let’s take a moment to admire this beautiful queen is #MISSUSA #DeshaunaBarber pic.twitter.com/sDRdijQywt
— blashpemy (@ty_hotcommodity) June 3, 2016
Miss USA really is everything. #BlackGirlMagic#DeshaunaBarber ?????
— chrissy ? (@christinaxaviar) June 7, 2016
According to Us Weekly, Barber’s fellow military officers also reacted positively to her Miss USA win. During her interview on Good Morning America, the morning after her win, Barber said that her military buddies flooded her phone with congratulatory messages.
“When I got back to my phone, I probably had over 250 text messages that I have not been able to get through,” the newly crowned Miss USA told GMA co-anchor Robin Roberts.
According to The Washington Post, pageant officials called Deshauna Barber “the most disciplined contestant of the year,” a trait that she most likely picked up as a result of her military training.
Before the pageant, she also said that she wanted to change the public perception of military officers and pageant queens.
“I’m being able to say that no one pageant girl does the same thing or has the same background, and I’m also saying that no one soldier has the same background and does the same thing. We can be feminine, we can be in beauty contests, we can be models. So there’s stereotypes on both sides that I feel like I’m breaking by even being here and being able to compete for Miss USA.”
Deshauna Barber beat runner-up Miss Hawaii Chelsea Hardin and second runner-up Miss Georgia Emanii Davis to take the Miss USA 2016 crown. She will represent The United States in the Miss Universe pageant later this year.
[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]
