Title
Proclamation recognizing Jean Bryant for her efforts in organizing the Miss Black Teen and Miss Black Princess pageants.
Body
WHEREAS, recognizing the need for a young female-centered program that encouraged confidence and inner beauty, Ms. Jean Bryant, a former Pittsburgh-area reporter, founded the Miss Black Teenage Pageant in 1973; and
WHEREAS, the pageant, coupled with the Miss Princess Pageant, is based on the motto, “Confidence, Awareness, and Pride,” and emphasizes the importance of education and spirituality in the lives of young women; and
WHEREAS, the eight-week program also lectures teens on the perils of drug and substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and teen suicide; and
WHEREAS, since its inception in 1973, approximately 1,831 young women have graduated from the program and have gone on to pursue a broad range of successful careers, including those in the arts, business, education, medicine, ministry, fashion, law, and criminal justice fields; and
WHEREAS, to date, the program has awarded more than $400,000 in academic scholarships, including four-year tuition scholarships to Clarion University; and
WHEREAS, this year's Miss Black Teenage and Miss Princess Pageants were held on Mother's Day, May 11, 2008, at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, where Charmaine Clarke was named Miss Black Teenage Queen, and Jasmine Williams was named Miss Princess;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, Allegheny County Council is honored to recognize Ms. Jean Bryant for her efforts in organizing the Miss Black Teenage and Miss Princess Pageants. We commend you for the efforts that you have displayed in providing teenage girls with the “Confidence, Awareness, and Pride” that they need in order to grow into successful, accomplished women.