Black Voices

Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Jalondra Davis Reigning Miss Black California, Jalondra Davis

Media Credit: Jalondra Davis

At age nine, an adventurous spirit propelled Jalondra Davis and her childhood friend, Curtis to scale the wall of their neighbor's backyard, where a fiesty canine would immediately charge toward them.

The dog was tied to a chain which seemed to grow in length each time he ran towards the two children, so they decided to retreat from their mission of taunting.

In an instance of what some might call karma, Davis cut her right leg on the wall as she climbed back to the house.

Fast forward some years and at age of 21, Davis no longer teases neighborhood dogs but she's managed to maintain her sense of adventure and channel it into something entirely new.

"I'm not into risking my life anymore," she said.

Jalondra A. Davis is a pageant girl.

Bright lights are glaring. The audience is waiting. The stage manager is barking Davis' name. She only has a few moments before she must go out into the spotlight. The gash on her right leg from years ago is now a darkened scar.

Backstage, Davis fumbles around to put makeup over that scar and the many other scratches she acquired throughout her childhood as a self-described "unsuccessful tomboy."

Finally, she steps on stage with her best and most energetic smile.

Fastforward three more years and Davis now has several pageants under her belt-including the recent title of 2009 Miss Black California.

For years, Davis desired to enter a pageant, but the large costs to participate put a hold on those dreams.

"There was always something in me that wanted to have that experience, but I just didn't think that it was accesible to me," she said.

Her first pageant was a Miss Black and Gold scholarship competition, hosted by the UCLA chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.

Although Miss Black and Gold was the first pageant Davis felt was financially feasible for her, she still had doubts.

"My Alpha friends kind of pushed me into it," she chuckled. "I was really nervous. I didn't really feel like I was the type of girl who did pageants."

Despite her worries, Davis not only won the pageant at the college level, but she moved on to win in the Southern California District and Western Regional pageants, giving her the opportunity to compete on the fraternity's national level-where she won first runner up.

It was then that Davis became hooked.
"I just got a bug," she said, "It's one of those things that is addictive. Girls who do pageants tend to do a lot of them."

This year, Davis competed to be Miss California for the Miss America pageant, but was unsuccessful. Her loss in the competition was disappointing because as a 24 year old, she is past the age limit to participate again.

Yet, Davis was determined to compete in another pageant so she researched the Miss Black USA program.

Because the organization doesn't have a California office, there's not a pageant to become Miss Black California. Instead, Davis went through a rigorous application process to be chosen from approximately 60 other women.

In mid April of last year, while attending USC as a graduate student, Davis received the news via email that she was chosen to represent California in the Miss Black USA pageant.

When Davis' family heard the news, they had mixed feelings.

"My family is looking forward to me settling down and starting my career and becoming an adult," Davis said.

Although they were proud of her, they would like to see her make use of her degree as she is the first person in the family to graduate from college.

Davis attributes her success in pageants to her childhood.

Davis grew up in Inglewood, Calif. to a low-income family. She has vivid memories of her mother and grandmother working hard to earn enough money for her to take dance lessons, be a cheerleader and participate in other extra-curricular activities.

It was these activities that helped her develop a self-confidence much needed in pageantry.

Even at school, training started early and in an unconventional way for Davis. As a fifth grader at 74th Elementary School, Davis said she was challenged by her teacher Ms. Anthony on a level that she would not see again until college.

Davis fondly remembers Ms. Anthony as the teacher that taught her the importance of speaking well and presenting yourself in a respectable manner.

"So much of what I experienced in that class I still use," she said.

Dancing and other forms of the arts has always been a crucial part of Davis' life and as Miss Black California, her personal platform is to increase access to art and culture in urban communities.

"I think art is the ultimate expression of our humanity, especially as an African people," she said. "I wouldn't be who I am without having been a dancer and having been a poet. It was my escape, it was my relief."

In order to support her platform Davis is teaching affordable dance classes at Lula Washington Dance Theatre and she is also raising money for the Precision Dance Company, World Arts Gallery and other institutions that promote the arts.

She is also working on the national campaigns of Miss Black USA which include the 50 Million Pound Challenge, which encourages Americans to lose weight, especially African Americans, and the Heart Truth Campaign.

The 50 Million Pound Challenge particularly interests Davis because many members of her family suffer from obesity related illnesses.

"I'm really pushing this so we can really address the problem of this epidemic in our communities," she said.

As Davis enjoys the last few months of her reign as Miss Black California she is preparing for competing in Miss Black USA, a pageant which she's decided will be her last.

Davis wants to earn her PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from USC. With this new distinction she hopes to start a steadier job as a college professor. Currently, she is an adjunct lecturer at CSU Dominguez Hills.

No matter what happens in life, Davis says she will be sure to maintain her childlike spirit of adventure.

Writing novels is her next adventure in life.
Her ultimate goal is to write fiction books and she is presently editing her first novel about a family living in Los Angeles during the 1992 LA riots.

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