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Miss USA 2020 ripped off her crown on Monday night.
Asya Branch, who represented the state of Mississippi, received the title at Graceland from Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee.
The 22-year-old stunner received the title after months of delay due to the coronavirus pandemic. The competition usually takes place in the spring, according to Fox News.
Cheslie Chryst, who won the competition in 2019, bestowed her crown on Branch.
Although she’s young, Branch already has quite the resume: at age 17, she attended Harvard University for summer school. She is an Ole Miss graduate and runs her own cosmetics line called Branch Beauty (although the store was put on hold after Branch won the title).
Soon, Branch will be moving to New York to begin his duties.
Here’s everything you need to know about the new Miss USA.
Who are Asya Branch’s parents?
Branch comes from a large family and is the sixth of eight siblings, according to his official pageant biography. Her father was retired from the military and her mother worked as a teaching assistant.
At the age of 10, Branch’s father was arrested at their home for kidnapping and armed robbery, as she and her siblings watched from the car. “That day our lives changed forever,” she told Empower Missippi. “We had a beautiful house and a beautiful life.”
With his father in prison, the bank seized their home. “People looked at us differently when they found out my dad was in prison,” she says. “It was a critical stage in my life and it ended up changing me. I felt this overwhelming shame. Now Branch talks about her father’s story to help other kids who have incarcerated parents.
What issues does she care about?
Criminal justice reform is a major part of Branch’s platform. She launched an initiative called “Finding Your Way: Empowering Children of Incarcerated Parents,” according to Glamor.
Branch also talks about responsible gun ownership.
“As a person who grew up in a house with guns, I learned early on how to load, how to shoot and gun safety, and I think education should be available to everyone,” she said, during part of the competition. when she was instructed to speak on a random topic taken from a box, according to The Daily Beast.
“I think it’s important that we don’t ban guns because obviously people will find a way to get what they want anyway, but I think this is our correct Second Amendment. , and we just need more security on that, ”she said, although she did mention that people who want guns should go through training and testing to get them.
Does she have a connection to President Trump?
The beauty queen has met the president on several occasions. In 2018, she was as part of a round table on criminal justice reform with Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
That year, when she became Miss Mississippi USA, she also sang the national anthem at a Trump rally in the state. “Incredible honor to sing the national anthem tonight in Southaven for President Trump’s rally,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.
However, she did not fully approve of the President’s administration when she answered a question in the contest. “We have lost faith in the systems that seem to run our country, from the media to businesses to our government,” Branch said, according to Fox News. “And it’s about restoring that trust and coming together and working together to heal and trust these systems. If we are to continue to be the greatest nation, we are going to have to set a better example.
Is Branch the first black woman to be Miss USA?
No. However, she is the first black woman to be Miss Mississippi USA, according to People Magazine.
Last year, for the first time in history, Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA were all black women.
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