Hampton U's First White Beauty Queen Complains to Obama

Nikole Churchill, the first non-black Homecoming Queen at Hampton University in Virginia is now facing some heat and has involved President Obama in the mess -- like he isn't busy.

When the announcement was made that she had won the title, several people in the audience stormed out of the venue in protest. The runners-up were not pleased either, as evidenced by the look on their faces in the group photo.

The following day Nikole, who's white, was heckled at the college football game and a previous Miss Hampton University said she was "very shocked" there was a white winner. "We've never had one before," Patrece Parson said.

So, what does Nikole do?

She pens an open letter in the Washington Post to President Obama! Really.

"I am sad to say that my crowning was not widely accepted and many negative comments regarding my win have been shared throughout my campus," she wrote. "It would be much easier to say that possibly some were not accepting of the news because I wasn't the most qualified contestant; however, the true reason for the disapproval was because of the color of my skin. I am not African American....I am hoping that perhaps you would be able to make an appearance to my campus, Hampton University, so that my fellow Hamptonians can stop focusing so much on the color of my skin and doubting my abilities to represent, but rather be proud of the changes our nation is making towards accepting diversity. People are even nicknaming me, "lil Obama" because of various reasons. This is truly an honor as well!"

Nikole says her father is from Guam and her mother is Italian and she was born in Hawaii.

One student told the Washington Post there was "no comparison between a black man becoming President and a white woman winning a beauty pageant at a black school."

Other students insisted their antagonism was not the result of race but of Nikole's status as a virtual unknown on campus - rarely seen in dorms or cafeterias or known for celebrating her school spirit.

Because of her outburst, the school's administration ordered Nikole to an emergency meeting, demanding she explain herself. She said she overreacted and was told to apologize.

So she wrote yet another letter, saying: “I have now come to regret writing this letter and disappointing the very students that I now represent. I took the comments of a few and blew it out of proportion. I truly apologize to all students, faculty, staff and alumni. It was absolutely not my intention to bring negative attention to the University. I deeply apologize for any misunderstandings that this may have caused and I look forward to working with my fellow students to promote the Hampton University legacy.”

Let's wait to see what happens at her official coronation tomorrow. Will there be a brawl? Will Obama show up to squash the beef?


source letter