Who was the first African-American woman crowned Miss America?

Vanessa Williams was the first African-American woman crowned Miss America.

She won the Miss America 1984 title on September 17, 1983, after representing New York. Williams had first won Miss Syracuse and then Miss New York, and her preliminary victories in talent and swimsuit helped propel her to the national crown. Her talent performance was a vocal rendition of “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

The year can cause confusion: she was crowned in 1983, but her official title was Miss America 1984 because the pageant title referred to the following year. Another common mix-up involves Suzette Charles, the first runner-up who succeeded Williams after Williams resigned in July 1984.

Williams later built a major career as a singer and actress. In 2015, the Miss America organization publicly apologized to her, and she returned as head judge for the Miss America 2016 competition.