The pageant life: Valuable lessons for Miss NC contestant

COURTESY JADA CARTER

Jada Carter, Miss Charlotte Mecklenburg, advanced to the round of 16 at the Miss North Carolina pageant.

There is beauty in representation.  

For decades, Black women have undergone discrimination and lack of representation in media and career opportunities, and in social standards of beauty, especially pageant settings, they were not the sought image. However, Miss Charlotte Mecklenburg Jada Carter did not allow that to prevent her from breaking boundaries.

Carter, a rising senior computer science major at Florida A&M University, got her pageant start at age 16 with no experience but plenty of curiosity and passion for representation. Carter’s leap of faith was rewarded when she won her first pageant – Miss Mecklenburg County Outstanding Teen 2019.

“When I came into pageantry, which is another predominantly white space, it became important to me to advocate for the fact that although there are not a lot of black people involved in the pageant organization, there’s space for us to not only be there but succeed in it.”

In February, Carter was crowned Miss Charlotte Mecklenburg. Carter is committed to breaking barriers for women as she dedicated her community service initiative “#Get Engaged: Girls committing to STEM” to women pursuing STEM-related careers as it is a predominately white male field.

“The birth of my community service initiative was about the current spot in my life that I was in. I've had the same platform. It's changed names, but it's always been the same mission since I was 16. It’s to stress the importance of getting more women of color involved in STEM because essentially, that’s what I want to pursue when it comes to my career. I wanted to make sure that the support and opportunities that I had I can make sure that other young women who maybe want to follow in my footsteps can have that as well.”

Although Carter has always been involved in advocating for the Black community, even at a young age.

“I’ve always been involved in service and civil rights movements. I actually went to my first march when I was 5 years old when the incident happened in Charlotte,” she said. “My parents have always made sure I'm very involved when they come to justice for our people, and make sure that I’m publicly advocating for my rights.”

A pivotal change in Carter's life changed her perspective on what representation meant to her as it fully became part of her story.

“When I went to high school, I transitioned into the private school system, so I graduated from Providence Day School, which is a predominantly white institution,” she said. “That was a very big shock for me. I really didn’t know how to navigate that space, but it taught me the importance  of standing [for] who you are, and not feeling discouraged in those spaces was so important to show us as your full self. So, you’re not depriving yourself and anyone in the space of the wonderful things you have to offer. I definitely took a lot of that out of that experience.”

June 20 was the start of Miss North Carolina week where Carter competed for the title. She choreographed a tap dance to Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.”

“There were 45 of us,” Carter said. “We were split into two groups, A and B. I was in Group B, so on that first night of preliminary competition, I competed in fitness and evening gown. I made that top 16 cut. Then they cut us down to the top five.

“Unfortunately, I did not make that top five, but I was still in the top 16 and still on some scholarship money so I’m still happy with the turnout. Taylor Lloyd was named Miss North Carolina and she was my sister queen that first year.”

Although she did not make the top five, Carter is grateful for the experience.

“I learned a new thing about myself and the experience every single time,” she said, “so, no regrets. I had a great week. And it was really fun getting to see everyone again since North Carolina is home.” Throughout her journey, Carter learned about herself and plans to continue advocating for the community through her nonprofit, “#Get Engaged: Girls Committing to STEM.”

“My mom and I officially founded our nonprofit last year with the same name as my CSI,” she said. “We have big plans to continue to impact the community after I leave the Miss America organization and we currently have plans to have our own STEM Exploratory Summit but make it very well rounded.

“So not only do you know the panels where the kids can ask any questions they want to STEM professionals, but also have opportunities for them to create their own STEM projects. Have them kind of project what they want to get out of the experience to us.”

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