ATLANTA — For the first time, both the winners of Miss Georgia and Miss Georgia's Teen are Black women.
Ludwidg "Lulu" Louizaire and Carrington Manous were recently crowned as Miss Georgia and Miss Georgia's Teen, competing as Miss Rome and Miss Cobb County's Teen, respectively. They will go on to compete in the Miss America 2025 competition of both levels.
Louizaire, 26, came in as third runner-up for Miss Georgia last year when she was competing as Miss Cobb County. She is now only the fourth Black winner of Miss Georgia in its 79-year history.
"That moment became bigger than us," Louizaire wrote in an Instagram post. "My crowning became bigger than me. It was now a symbol to brown girls all over who always wanted to be something but unfortunately couldn’t see someone who looked like them in that position."
Manous, who competed as Miss Cobb County's Teen, is also the fourth Black winner of her new title. She has also previously served as Miss Greater Atlanta's Teen. Her service initiative focuses on Dyslexia; she has even written a children's book on the subject.
"It was a historical crowning this past Saturday night at the River Center of Performing Arts inside the Bill Heard Theatre with 95 contestants vying for the Miss Georgia’s Teen & Miss Georgia titles," Trina Pruitt, chairman of the board for the Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition, said. "This year is the first time in history that two African American women have been crowned for both titles in the same year."
This year marked another first for the scholarship program: both Miss Georgia and her runner-up, Miss Fayette County Taylor Burrell, are women of color.
Previously, two Miss Georgia winners have gone on to win Miss America: Neva Jane Langley in 1953 and Betty Cantrell in 2016. A total of eight Black women have won Miss America, starting in 1983 with Vanessa Williams.
