Miss America Nina Davuluri Rises Above the Petty Racist Comments

What happened on September 15, 2013?

It was a historic moment for Indians living in America. On Sunday, September 15, 2013, Nina Davuluri, Miss New York, was crowned the winner of the 2014 Miss America pageant in Atlantic City. It was the first time an Indian American had won the Miss America title. Indians everywhere were sharing, talking — they were happy.

Who is Nina Davuluri?

Nina Davuluri is not just beautiful — she aspired to be a doctor and comes from a respected Indian American family from Fayetteville, New York, whose roots are in Andhra Pradesh. Her parents emigrated about thirty years ago, and her father is an OB-GYN. She graduated from the University of Michigan, where she made the Dean's List, and competed on a platform of "Celebrating Diversity through Cultural Competency" — performing a Bollywood fusion dance for her talent.

She is the second Miss New York to win the coveted Miss America title. And yet, it seemed nobody was talking about her being from New York or her merits as a scholar — everyone was pointing out her Indian roots. There is nothing wrong in that; it's just that she is as American as the white girl next door whose grandparents were from Germany.

What was the racist backlash?

That night, social media went abuzz — and not all the noise was positive. Many were tweeting and commenting negatively about her, some even misidentifying her as Arab or Muslim and linking her to terrorism.

Todd Starnes of Fox News & Commentary tweeted repeatedly that night, arguing that Miss Kansas — "a gun-toting, deer-hunting, military veteran" — was "America's choice," but not the choice of the "liberal Miss America judges."

Diversity is what has made America what it is. America is a melting pot of cultures where people celebrate diversity. When people make such comments, it makes you question the tolerance levels of a certain section of the American people.

Most white Americans have little or a vague idea of Indians. They tend to group all brown people as Muslims. Indians are peace-loving people, and those living in America are as proud to be American as their white neighbors. They believe in education and hate terrorism, like their white colleagues. If you have an Indian neighbor — I ask you to knock on her door tomorrow — and I can guarantee you that you will be offered a cup of tea. They are friendly people who want to live in peace and harmony.

Maybe it's time to broaden your outlook. If a white girl from my city had won the Miss America title, I can tell you that I would have been filled with the same amount of joy that I am now feeling seeing Nina Davuluri win.

How did Nina respond?

As a true educated woman, Nina Davuluri decided not to pay attention to the negative criticism she was receiving. "I have to rise above that," she said. "I always viewed myself as first and foremost American."

Update: Davuluri went on to serve her full year as Miss America 2014, traveling the country to promote diversity, cultural competency, and STEM education for young women — and later became a speaker and advocate on those issues.