Erin O'Flaherty was crowned Miss Missouri in June. She is the first openly gay Miss America contestant in the pageant's 95-year history. http://cnn.it/296RIir | CNN

786K views · 21K reactions | For the first time, top beauty pageants — Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss America, Miss Universe and now, Miss World — have crowned black women as their winners at the same time. "We cannot be what we cannot see," said 2019 Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi. "That’s why this is so important, because then young girls can look at us and feel they, too, are important." https://cnn.it/2PrjnTO | CNN | Facebook