Brooklyn Woman Aims to Change Beauty Norms Through Modesty
Brooklyn resident MonaLesa Diamond Brackett will be competing as the first Black American Muslim contestant in the Miss New York USA 2025 competition.
A Brooklyn beauty contestant is returning to the pageant world as a Black American Muslim contestant in the Miss New York USA 2025 competition.
MonaLesa Diamond Brackett, 36, founder of The Real Estate Fairy, curently reides in Bedford-Stuyvesant where she was born and raised. After competing in multiple state-level beauty pageants in her teens and twenties, she placed fourth runner-up in Miss DC America Pageant 2013.
Brackett’s story is deeply personal: She said she decided to step away from pageants due to financial strain and to prioritize her family.
“I chose not to compete in my last year of eligibility. It broke my heart,” Brackett said. “After my mom passed, it was my only regret.”
In 2023, Miss USA announced that it will no longer have age restrictions of those who choose to compete, allowing any woman age 18 or older to enter, an attempt to redefine their rules for a changing America.
“Right when the regret started weighing on my heart that’s when the age restrictions were removed,” said Brackett, “I think it was just God’s way of letting me know that the opportunity was coming back and I was allowed to compete again. Now I’m here and I’m ready.”
The Miss New York USA 2025 pageant, set to take place Aug. 15 – 17 in Albany, will feature contestants from across the state competing in interview, evening gown and swimwear segments. The winner will go on to represent New York at the Miss USA national competition.
Competing in modest attire, she hopes to expand perceptions of Muslim women– especially Black-American Muslims– including expanding the image of who belongs on stage and who defines beauty.
“A lot of times in the media, we only see one face of Islam portrayed,” she said. “Usually Middle Eastern or African cultures, but Black-American Muslims have practiced Islam since the beginning of our time as well.”
Now in her 30s, Brackett embraces a new era in pageantry. “Women in their 30s are still relevant. I’m such a better competitor now than I was when I was younger,” she said.
She is training harder than ever as she steps back onto the stage, Brackett is fuelled by purpose not just to win, but to represent for all the communities she’s apart of.
“I feel so beautiful in modesty because it’s a different type of quiet beauty. It’s a feeling of just being untouchable.”
