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Meet the 2024 Miss Juneteenth State Pageant Queens

More than 300 community members turned out to support the state's inaugural event.

MINNEAPOLIS — Five queens were crowned for the first-ever Miss Juneteenth Minnesota State Pageant on Saturday in St. Paul.

Contestants, pageant officials and more than 300 family and community members celebrated Juneteenth and the event's theme Rediscovering Our Culture and Redefining Our Freedom at Hamline University's Sundin Music Hall.

The Miss Juneteenth Minnesota State Pageant's five Queens are:

  • Division 1: Ages 6 to 9 – Little Miss Juneteenth: Ceray'na Alexander, north Minneapolis resident
  • Division 2: Ages 10 to 13 – Junior Miss Juneteenth: LaMariya Swain, Brooklyn Park resident
  • Division 3: Ages 14 to 18 – Teen Miss Juneteenth: Kamira Nelson, north Minneapolis resident
  • Division 4: Ages 19 to 24 – Miss Juneteenth: Breona Maynard, north Minneapolis resident
  • Division 5: Ages 25 to 30 – Ms. Juneteenth: Khadijah Lamah, St. Louis Park resident

"We look forward to working with these dynamic and talented young ladies during their reign. Tonight began as a vision that became reality beyond what I could have imagined. And it was due to the support from their families and the community pulling together. The Miss Juneteenth contestants represent the promise and hope for the future," Angel T. Jones, chief executive officer and founder of the Miss Juneteenth Minnesota State Pageant, said in a news release.

Show us how you're celebrating Juneteenth on our new Map of 10,000 Stories. 

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