The Mr. Collegiate African American Pageant is back with a vengeance
for its 30th Anniversary celebration! Applications are now being
accepted for candidates for the program set for November 16-19, 2022
in Houston and Prairie View, Texas, with the finals on Saturday, November 19, in
conjunction with the International Leadership Summit on Black Men, set for November 18-19, 2022 at Prairie View A&M University.
When we think of pageantry in America, we think of women in sequin
gowns, swimsuits and talent, vying to be queens. The interesting thing
is that there is a queen and no king! Well, the producers of the Mr.
Collegiate African American Scholarship Pageant (MCAASPP) has been
changing that imagery since 1990 with the pageant creation, the first of
its kind in the world and a catalyst for campus kings. The program
empowers Black college men and changes the negative imagery of them in
the society.
When
asked why a pageant program for males, Pageant Founder Frederick V.
Roberts stated that "pageantry is gender-free." In fact, the early
Egyptians used pageantry as a ceremony of ascension and coronation. W.
E. B. DuBois also produced the "Star of Egypt Pageant" in the early
1950's to display the achievement of Blacks. Using the principles of
character, self-esteem, positive role modeling and services, the
MCAASPP) hopes to grow the next generation of African American male
leaders and role models for the world.
The goal of the
program is provide a model of excellence for Black males for a positive
belief in oneself and race, and to encourage individual and group
achievement in the pursuit of excellence. We must dispel the myth that
one has to be a product of a negative environment and can be a catalyst
for change and achievement.
The Mr. Collegiate program
was created as a mentoring program in summer of 1990 and the the first
pageant was staged in April 1992 with 13 candidates from HBCU's. Mr.
Charles Clemens of Lincoln University-Pennsylvania was selected the
first Mr. Collegiate.
Since then, other winners include
Steven Daniels, (Alabama State), Stacey O. Washington, (Virginia
State), Christopher Sanders, (Kentucky State), Adoris Turner, (Jackson
State) and Damany Mayfield (Virginia State).
Candidates
compete in a private interview with Judges, personal platform
(oratory), talent, formal attire and onstage interview and question.
The
pageant winners and candidates will receive some $5,000 in
scholarships, gifts and prizes. Additionally, the winner has the
opportunity to represent the program at special events and conferences,
visits to K-12 schools and colleges around the country, sharing his
platform of achievement and community engagement.
The
pageant is in its Thirtieth year and is open to college men 18-30
years of age who are enrolled in colleges and universities. The program
is being sponsored in conjunction with the National Leadership Summit on
Black Men with focus on helping to create the next generation of
leaders and Black male achievement in the likes of President Barak
Obama, Dr. Cornell West, Mark Morial, the Honorable Louis Farrakhan,
Benjamin Chavis, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Eric
Holder, Colin Powell, Bob Johnson, Denzel Washington, LeBron James and Michael Jordan,
etc.
Application Deadline is: September 30, 2022
For
an application and other information, please contact: The Mr.
Collegiate African American Scholarship Program: P.O. Box 2906, Prairie
View, TX 77446-2906. Email: mrcollegiateprograms@gmail.com. Phone: 281-219-8044 - Frederick V. Roberts
