Kenya Moore recently visited her daughter Brooklyn‘s elementary school, where she took the opportunity to teach the students about “the meaning of beauty.” While there, she shared her insights on how, as a former Miss USA, beauty is not just about physical appearance but it also about “intelligence”, “kindness”, and “uniqueness.”
Moore was a part of the school’s Black History and Women’s History presentations. The 54-year-old shared the video of the moment on Instagram starting her caption, “I had the incredible honor of visiting my daughter’s school to present in front of her entire class of bright and curious six-year-olds. I spoke about the meaning of beauty—not just in appearance, but in confidence, kindness, and embracing who we are.”
“Through my own journey of becoming Miss USA, I shared the history of beauty in a way that highlighted representation and breaking barriers, and changing the global perception of beauty, as I was the second Black woman to win the title in the pageant’s history.”
She continued, “Being part of this Black History and Women’s History presentation was deeply meaningful, as it allowed me to inspire these young minds to dream big and see beauty in themselves and the world around them. I am so proud to be part of a school community that encourages parents to actively shape the education of its students. Moments like these remind me of the power of representation and the importance of sharing our stories.”
One of the main points that Moore drove home in her presentation to a room full of six-year-olds was that, “… when I was competing in pageants, one of the things that we had to be when we were competing was smart. We had to be kind. We had to recognize everyone for all of their accomplishments.”
She also made sure that the children knew that not all people see “Black” as beautiful but it is.
“Even though I was Black, sometimes people would think around the world that Black wasn’t beautiful. Can you imagine that?”
One student responded, “That would be crazy!” Another added, “That is crazy!”
Moore chuckled at the responses and continued saying, “But so many Black women never were recognized for their beauty because we have brown skin and we have curly hair. We had other features that were not like everyone else. So they said, ‘Oh, they’re not really beautiful.’ But guess what? I worked really hard. I stayed in school, and I competed. I talked about how important it was to be smart and to be kind and to be a person that can change the world and the perception of what people think about you.”
Moore concluded by having the class repeat in unison, “Brown skin is beautiful!” and “Black is beautiful.”
Moore was the second Black woman to be crowned Miss USA in 1993, following in the footsteps of Carole Anne-Marie Gist, who was the first Black woman to win the title in 1990.
Moore shares her daughter with Marc Daly.
Photo: Kenya Moore Instagram
