Why Zozibini Tunzi's Miss Universe 2019 Win Is Especially Historic

Miss Universe 2019 winner Zozibini Tunzi joins more trailblazers in the beauty pageant world after her historic moment this weekend.

By Mike Vulpo Dec 09, 2019 6:19 PMTags

Historic moments sure are a beautiful thing.

During Sunday night's 2019 Miss Universe, host Steve Harvey revealed that Zozibini Tunzi, who represented the country of South Africa, won the coveted crown and sash.

"Tonight a door was opened and I could not be more grateful to have been the one to have walked through it," she shared on Instagram after the pageant was held at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. "May every little girl who witnessed this moment forever believe in the power of her dreams and may they see their faces reflected in mine."

She added, "I proudly state my name Zozibini Tunzi, Miss Universe 2019!"

The historic moment comes shortly after three black women became the titleholders of the three major pageant titles: Miss America, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.

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Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst couldn't help but celebrate the winner on Sunday night.

"Last night I placed in the top ten at MISS UNIVERSE!!!!!! I'm so excited and proud that I had the opportunity to compete alongside such talented, accomplished, beautiful women and I'm even more proud and honored that I had the pleasure of representing my country," she wrote on social media. "Congrats to our new Miss Universe, @zozitunzi!!!! You represented us with class and grace and humility and I'm thrilled that I can call you a sister and, now, ROOMMATE!! Swipe for a little #BGM because, you guessed it, Miss Universe, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, and Miss America are all women of color!!!!!!!"

She added, "Proud to be a part of this group and happy reading all of your excitement and love as I chow down on cheesecake and brownies with Nutella this morning."

Perhaps all these special moments in history is only the beginning. Miss Teen USA 2019 Kaliegh Garris and Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin previously spoke to E! News about their historic wins and what it could mean for the future.

HO/The Miss Universe Organization

"I really hope that people will see beauty in a different way and know that beauty can be diverse really across the world," Nia previously explained to E! News. "Beauty can come in all different shapes and sizes, and it's also okay to be beautiful and care about your appearance, but also knowing that it's not the most important thing, and how you feel about yourself on the inside and how you can help others with your intellectual gifts and talents is really what matters at the end of the day."

Kaliegh added, "I think it shows how far we have come, of course, to have three women of color hold these main titles. I think it also shows how far we have to go because it is such a big deal. I'm hoping at some point it's not this big thing that women of color accomplished these things too even though our skin tone may be different. I feel as though that we can really get past that when women of color hold these titles, that we don't have to look at their color necessarily, and just see that they won because they have accomplished so many great things."

Congratulations again ladies!

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