When the emcee named Dyna Martinez as first runner-up of the Miss Indiana 2021 pageant, Braxton Hiser could not contain her excitement because she knew she would be crowned the next Miss Indiana.
“It’s finally settled in,” Hiser, 24, said. “It feels like it’s been a month and it’s only been two weeks.”
Had it not been for a friend pressuring her to compete for the first time three years ago, she would have never imagined winning a crown, sash and $10,000 scholarship.
In 2018, she didn’t make the top 10. In 2019, she was the second runner-up. In 2021, she is the reigning Miss Indiana.
“This was the first time there were two Black women standing, waiting to be Miss Indiana,” she said. “When we made the top five, I told Dyna that I want us to be the ones holding hands at the end of the night.”
Hiser is the sixth Black Miss Indiana and says it is important to have representation in the pageant scene because they help build great speaking skills, create friendships and give contestants the opportunity to win scholarships.
“I want more women of color competing,” she said.
Thirty-seven contestants competed for the crown in the Zionsville High School auditorium June 19.
Each contestant competes in four categories: evening gown, talent, private interview and social impact initiative statement.
Hiser sang “Someone Like You” from the musical “Jekyll and Hyde” during the talent section. She discussed her “Love Thy Neighbor” campaign, which provides homeless people with basic needs such as toiletries and clothing.
She wants to rebrand her social initiative to focus more on providing for homeless students in the Metropolitan School District of Washington Township, where she teaches.
Tiarra Taylor, 23, who won the Miss Indiana pageant in 2019 and was the first Black contestant to win in almost two decades, has become good friends with Hiser through the organization.
“I kept looking at Braxton and I genuinely believed that she was going to win,” Taylor said. “When we were backstage, I was praying her name would be the last name to be called.”
Being able to crown Hiser was a special moment for Taylor because not only did she see her friend crowned, she also got to see another Black woman win.
“Pageantry is known to look for the straight hair, the blond hair, the thin which puts us in a box,” Taylor said. “Seeing two Black women holding hands at the end of the night, on Juneteenth, was truly something special.”
As reigning Miss Indiana, Hiser will go to other local competitions throughout Indiana and represent the state in the Miss America pageant in December.
CORRECTION: Tiarra Taylor was the first Black contestant to win in nearly two decades. It was reported that she was the first Black contestant to win in over three decades in an earlier version of this article.
Contact staff writer Terrence Lambert at 317-924-5243. Follow him on Twitter @_TerrenceL_.
