By Bria Horsley, News Editor (@autobriagraphy)
Victoria Grimes has led Howard University to the top 15 of Ebony Magazine’s annual HBCU Campus Queens contest. Grimes is one of more than 60 young women encouraging their schools to boost their names to the top of the list. Ebony Magazine is going on their eighth year of the tradition of honoring dynamic, college women who exemplify Black excellence.
“If I can win this, it fulfills my platform of women’s empowerment,” said Grimes. “If young girls can see me in a magazine across the country, they can see themselves doing anything. Girls truly see women that look like them with a crown on and say ‘I can do that. I can be a queen.'”
Even before Grimes was crowned Miss Howard, she has been adamant in her platform to empower and unite girls through service and self love. She believes that this is the generation of promoting and appreciating women’s accomplishments. Her participation in the HBCU Campus Queens contest has reminded her of the importance of having a connection with your community. Her goal right now is to bring the accolade back to Howard’s campus since former Miss Howard, Mariah Sankey, won.
Grimes says, “I want to bring the prize back to Howard. We haven’t been won the contest since the 2014-2015 school year. It’s really all about having pride in my school and I want to be able to do that for us.”
The top ten queens are given a full spread in Ebony along with bragging rights for their school. Last year, the queens were flown to Disney World for a women’s tea and granted the honor of walking in the parade on Main Street. Grimes encourages her student body, family and friends to devote a few minutes to voting for her. Voting is unlimited and ends Jan. 31.
