A War Of Tweets Erupts Over Latest Miss America : Code Switch : NPR

A War Of Tweets Erupts Over Latest Miss America : Code Switch : NPR: Thirty years ago, African-Americans Vanessa Williams and Suzette Charles were the last two finalists at the 1983 Miss America pageant. It was an electric moment; for the first time in the event's history, the next Miss America was guaranteed to be a black woman. In the three decades since, seven other African-Americans have won the "scholarship pageant," which originally required that "contestants must be of good health and of the white race."

Last night, the 2013 pageant echoed 1983 when the last two contestants onstage were both Asian American . While there has already been one Asian-American Miss America — 2001's Angela Perez Baraquio, who is of Filipino descent — Sunday's pageant was a striking reminder of how diverse our nation has become. Five Asian-Americans were competing for the crown — the highest number in pageant history — and three of them made it to the top five: Miss Minnesota, Rebecca Yeh; Miss California, Crystal Lee; and Miss New York, Nina Davuluri.

To see two Asian-American women onstage, clutching hands, reveling in a ceiling-shattering moment, was stunning; to hear co-host Lara Spencer agree with Davuluri's comment that "We are making history right here as Asian-Americans" underscored the significance.