By Sydney Goitia-Doran, The Seattle Medium
Cheers erupted at the Tacoma Art Museum last Thursday as Derrion Crocklem was crowned Miss Juneteenth 2025, concluding the third annual pageant with glittering gowns, joyful tears and the celebratory anthem “Golden” by Jill Scott.
Hosted by Community Aunties, an organization dedicated to youth empowerment through mentorship, scholarships, leadership development, and cultural celebration, the pageant highlighted the talents and voices of young Black girls from the area.
“When I got in these spaces, I didn’t see a lot of brown girls and there was a lot of scholarship money left on the table,” said Community Aunties Founder Amanda Scott Thomas. “People have a lot of preconceived notions about pageantry but it’s really about personal and professional development.”
The pageant was part of a broader Juneteenth celebration called Threads of Freedom, which was sponsored by Pierce County and curated by Dr. Milagros Thompson, a school counselor and Community Auntie.
“I did not want to compete with the big Juneteenth Celebration on June 19,” Dr. Thompson said. “I wanted something more for the families right after work, right after school, to just come in, and I really wanted to just display and showcase youth talent.”
After months of preparation, ten contestants took to the stage with confidence and grace, displaying their many talents, which included dancing, rapping and stepping. Participants were judged across four categories: presentation and community achievement, artistic expression and talent, evening wear presence and poise, and answering an on-stage question.
Every contestant received a scholarship, with the non-finalists earning $750 and the top five earning increasing amounts to the first-place prize of $2,500.
Before the pageant began, nine youth groups took the stage during Threads of Freedom, including step teams, choirs, a drum line and dance team.
Aisha Oliver, a school psychologist with Tacoma Public Schools, attended the event and said she was moved by the confidence of the young performers.
“I think activities help encourage kids to kind of get out there and show their personality and skill set,” Oliver said. “But also give them the opportunity to know that they’re loved and they’re celebrated, and what they have to say and their talents are also being acknowledged.”
The free event was a community effort that featured tables showcasing local businesses and organizations and food that was donated by the Tacoma Police Department. Oliver said events like this are important because it’s important for people from areas like Tacoma with small Black communities to connect with each other.
“It’s a time for us to stop what we’re doing and acknowledge each other and celebrate us and all of our accomplishments,” Oliver said. “Because oftentimes it’s always about adversity and struggle, and I think there’s a lot more to us than that.”
The evening also included moments of reflection. At the start of the event, a third-grade student went up on stage and said Juneteenth is important because it was the end of slavery. That moment, according to Dr. Thompson, captured the heart of the event—using celebration to educate and uplift.
“We are celebrating the liberation that we are free in this country, believe it or not,” Dr. Thompson said. “And we need to celebrate that by singing, dancing, music, food, I mean all the things that make you feel good inside. That’s what Juneteenth is about.”
