Young and Keeping Up- Crystal Bailey gets crowned Miss Black Virginia USA.

I am pleased to announce that Crystal L. Bailey was crowned Miss Black Virginia USA. As a graduate of Howard University, a law student at William & Mary School of Law, and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., she has always represented the excellence that is needed to carry out her new title. I can remember watching Crystal at the Alpha Phi Alpha Miss. Black and Gold pageant, and seeing the real passion she had for promoting the importance of the performing arts. It is no surprise that Crystal continues with her dream of getting the youth more involved in the arts.

Keeping Up with the Huxtables would like to give a personal congrats and cannot wait to see the impact that she has on the African American community through her platform. Thanks for Keeping Up!

Make sure to read a little bit about the history of the Miss Black USA pageant below.

Press Release:

On Saturday, November 29, 2008, twenty-four year old Crystal L. Bailey was crowned Miss Black Virginia USA in Danville, Virginia at the North Theatre. During her reign, under the platform Class ACT (Arts Can Transform) Ms. Bailey will seek to promote the performing arts by informing Virginia's youth of the rewards and benefits of participating in the arts. According to Ms. Bailey "the arts give our youth the impetus to think "outside of the box", which is essential to our nation's progress."

The Miss Black Virginia Pageant is an official preliminary competition of the Miss Black USA Organization, a national scholastic pageant competition sponsored by acclaimed actor, producer and director Tyler Perry. Founded in 1986, the Miss Black USA Organization seeks to provide educational opportunities for outstanding young women of color and to develop the "whole woman": mind, body and spirit. Locally, under the theme "Crown for One ? Experience for All", the Miss Black Virginia Pageant will award annual scholarships to not only the title holder, but to the top three contestants as well. This year's Miss Black Virginia Pageant holds historical significance, for it marked the first time a pageant was held to select Virginia's representative to the National Miss Black USA pageant to be held in Washington, D.C. in June of 2009. The Miss Black Virginia Pageant was the capstone of an entire week full of activities ranging from a community service project to participating in a local television program in Danville, Virginia. The week culminated with a spiritual coronation for Ms. Bailey at the Camp Grove Baptist Church.