Brittany Lee Lewis made history as the 49th Miss Black America, walking in the legacy of former winners like Oprah Winfrey and Toni Braxton, and continuing the legacy of Black protest via the country’s first nationally televised pageant for Black women. Brittany’s national title dovetailed perfectly as a professor of African-American, urban, and U.S. 20th century history. Today, Brittany utilizes her platform as a thought-leader through her role as a community activist, public speaker, and television personality.    

 

Brittany completed her undergraduate studies at Temple University with degrees in Broadcast, Telecommunications, and Mass Media and African-American Studies. Post-undergraduate school, she was accepted into the highly competitive Teach for America program. Through the program, she obtained a Master of Secondary Education degree and graduated with distinction.

 

Brittany is a professor of Ethnic Studies at Wilmington University and a Ph.D. candidate in the History Department at George Washington University. She specializes in social movements, political ideology, and the nation-state. Since her time in graduate school, she has worked as the chairperson of the George Washington University branch of the D.C. History Graduate Student Association, social media chair of The Activist History Review (TAHR), member of Yale’s Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, and Graduate Student Labor Union. Brittany is also the recipient of the George Washington University’s Herber Prize for Best Teaching.

 

Not a newcomer to pageants, Brittany has held national, state, and local titles in multiple pageant systems. She was crowned Miss Delaware for the Miss America Organization in 2014 and Miss Black America in 2017. She was awarded more than $35,000 in scholarships during her reign. She is the recipient of the Carol Maclary Excellence in Education Award, Miss America Community Service Award, and 1st runner-up to the Miss America Jean Bartel Quality of Life Award. During her pageant career, she tirelessly advocated for domestic violence awareness after losing her sister to domestic violence in 2009. She has worked alongside former Governor Jack Markell, Delaware Department of Justice, National Network to End Domestic Violence, and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Today, Brittany serves the pageant community as a board member for the Miss Delaware Scholarship Organization and Co-Chair of Miss America's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force.

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