I found a way to speak out for kids like me in an unexpected way: pageantry | story
I used to think pageants were only about looks until I entered one
First Person columns are personal stories and experiences from kids written in their own words. For more information and to learn how to submit your own piece, scroll to the bottom of the page.
Close your eyes and imagine you’re sitting in a room of 25 people.
When you open them, you realize not one person looks like you. Their skin is a different colour and their hair is a different texture.
You walk out of the room and get on a bus with these people, and they sneer at you and call you slurs. They make fun of your father’s dark skin and Jamaican accent.
When you’re at the store with your mom, strangers ask to touch your hair.
Your mom says no, but it still makes you feel like an animal in a zoo that people want to gawk at and pet.
Now I want you to imagine you’re watching the news and you see that another Indigenous woman has gone missing.
She has straight dark hair like your mom and the same deep brown skin as your grampa.
This is how my life has been in Sudbury, Ontario, and I’m only 15.
Adonia Dunwell wore a ribbon skirt and a shirt saying Black queen to a pageant earlier this month to showcase her Black and First Nations heritage. (Image submitted by Adonia Dunwell)
Finding a path to equality
I was raised to be proud of who I am: Black, Oji-Cree and a woman.
I have been taught to stand up for equality. I am an ally in every sense of the word.
I believe in equal rights and I want to make the world more fair.
It’s intimidating as a teenager to stand up to adults and other people in authority, but I found a way to do that.
One day, I saw an advertisement for entering a pageant.
Adonia Dunwell, top row, fourth from right, poses with the delegates for the Miss & Teen Ontario Regional Canada Pageant, along with last year’s winner, dressed in black. (Image credit: Bertrand Productions)
I asked my mom if I could do it, which surprised her a little bit.
But she always encourages me to try new things.
My view of pageants was also biased. I assumed it was all about looks, being pretty and perky, and smiling all the time, but boy, was I wrong.
Learning about pageants
Since February 2023, I have participated in three pageants in Ontario.
It’s not just about pretty dresses and fake eyelashes.
For two of them, I had to raise at least $100 each time for a specific charity: the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer Foundation, which I was lucky to do by partnering with Onaping Falls Lions Club.
In total, I raised $1,900.
For the pageant itself, I was interviewed, I created a slideshow about myself and my achievements and gave a speech.
Adonia, second from the right, won the Miss Teen Ontario Regional Canada earlier this month. (Image credit: Natalie Carriere)
The biggest component? I needed to have a platform to compete on.
I knew immediately that my platform would be advocating for support services for Black and Indigenous youth in my community.
I’ve always felt strongly that there is a need for proper mental health as well as cultural and social support services geared towards youth like me.
Kids like me will be better served when services are provided by people who look like us, understand our challenges, and don’t make fun of the curry chicken and rice we bring to lunch.
That may not seem like a big thing to others, but having common ground with people you can count on for support makes a huge difference in not feeling alone.
So, I researched what resources were available for Black and Indigenous youth in my community.
I learned there’s a lack of funding.
In addition to her activism and pageantry, Adonia plays volleyball for her school. (Image submitted by Adonia Dunwell)
Gaining the confidence to speak out
When I won the Greater Sudbury Youth Ambassador pageant last winter, I was the first Afro-Indigenous woman to do so.
I was shocked.
Then, I attended the Miss Ontario Regional Canada pageant as the youngest competitor of over 20 people and made it into the top 15.
Earlier this month, I participated in the Miss Teen Ontario Regional Canada Pageant and won eight side categories, which are awards for individual accomplishments and include scholarships, a sash and a tiara.
I also won the title of Miss Teen Ontario.
I’ve taken on leadership roles in my community and received awards from my school for academics.
As part of her activism, Adonia has taken part in leadership events around Black history and Black activism. (Image submitted by Adonia Dunwell)
I never thought I could do all this.
I never thought I would find the confidence and courage to join these groups, have a strong voice against inequality and fight for what is right.
Teenagers like me can and will change the world.
Wearing the sash with my home community’s name on it during pageants brings me pride, and I’m humbled to represent the land from which my ancestors came.
When I gave my speech earlier this month, I wore my ribbon skirt, gifted beaded earrings, and my Black queen shirt, and I gave my everything.
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Top image credit: Submitted by Adonia Dunwell, graphic design by Yousef Abdel Rahman/CBC
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