Houston native Chandler Foreman rocked her natural hair and made it to the top 15 during Thursday’s preliminary competition for the Miss America pageant.
The 23-year-old Miss Texas impressed with a medley of hits like “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Mahogony,” which she played on her flute while she rocked a sequined jumpsuit and natural curls.
Foreman was crowned Miss Texas 2019 in August, where she rocked her natural hair for the time ever in a Miss America pageant. Still, her coach and pageant director, Sheila Milner, admitted that the University of North Texas student was a bit hesitant about the style at first.
Milner told the Houston Chronicle, “Chandler said she needed extensions to compete, but I told her that I loved her natural look. This was three years ago, and natural hair wasn’t really accepted. But the judges loved her for who she was.”
Foreman joins a historic year in pageants, where, for the first time ever, all five top pageant titles are held by Black women. Foreman still feels like there’s a long way to go.
“It’s empowering yes, yet the fact that it is uncommon to see Black women be the representative for such a prestigious title proves that there is still work to be done,” Foreman later told Houston Style magazine ahead of the competition in July. “I’m happy that we are widening our range of beauty and most importantly prove that excellence comes in all colors.”