LAURINBURG — To honor and celebrate Juneteenth, Scotland Youth Development and the Scotland County NAACP Youth sponsored Monday its second annual Mister/Miss Juneteenth Pageant.
At the end of the show, Shavonte McBryde was crowned Mr. Juneteenth and Jazaria McCrimmon was crowned Miss Juneteenth. Judges were Dr. Phillip Boayue, Denita Dockery, Darryl Gibson, Mitch Johnson, Shirley McNair, and Sheila Swift.
Rena McNeil, the pageant’s organizer, served as master of ceremonies while State Rep. Rev. Garland Pierce gave the invocation.
“We sponsor this event because our children need to learn about our past struggles and triumphs and how it relates to the present and making the world a better place,” McNeil said. “We do this to give our children a chance to shine. It builds their confidence and lets them know we support them.”
Dontrell Briggs, of Maxton and American Idol fame, sang a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” while Johna Speller gave an impassioned speech about a lack of freedom in this lifetime due to police brutality.
There were six contestants in total. The three males vying for the title of Mister Juneteenth in addition to McBryde this year were Javon Everett and Michael McRae. The three females competing for Miss Juneteenth were Alexia Lowery and Tayona McNeil in addition to McCrimmon. All participants performed by singing, dancing or giving a speech.
Separate talent awards were given to Shavonte McBryde for his speech about being a child of God and to McNeil for her interpretive dancing and singing to the song “Stand Up.”