The winner of the Miss Black University of Texas pageant has received criticism from people who questioned whether she is African American.
Rachael Malonson, 22, is biracial and was crowned ‘Miss Black University of Texas’ on Sunday at the event hosted by the historically black fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi.
When they announced her win by posting Malonson’s photo, she started receiving criticism by individuals who pointed out how light her skin is.
One Twitter user pointed out that in the Miss Black pageant, ‘they still chose the most light-skinned.’
Another wrote that: ‘Her father may be black but socially I see she doesn’t even claim it unless when it’s convenient for her. That’s that s*** I don’t like.’
This argument was echoed by a number of Twitter users, many of whom brought up Rachel Dolezal as an example of someone who used ‘blackness’ for her own advantage.
Malonson, who has a black father and a white mother, said that she was taken off guard by the criticism.
‘I didn’t realize that even after I received the title I would still have to explain myself, that there was still ignorant people out there who are asking me to prove myself,’ she told Fox
‘Just because I have straight hair and olive skin tone doesn’t mean I’m not black… I don’t have to look a certain way to be black.’
The 22-year-old, who is a senior and a broadcasting and journalism student at the University of Texas, took the criticism in stride, though.
Credit Dailymail
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