Campus queens say they can spend hundreds, sometimes even thousands of dollars out of pocket while bringing visibility to their schools.
Erin Nichols, the 100th Miss Alcorn State University, poses on the field during a football game appearance. (Photo courtesy of Erin Nichols)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — HBCU queens have embodied Black excellence, pride, and tradition since royal courts started crowning them in the late 1920s. But behind the crowns, gowns, and pageantry, there’s an often-unseen hefty price that comes with maintaining that glamorous image of campus royalty.
Campus queens say they can spend hundreds, sometimes even thousands of dollars out of pocket while bringing visibility to their schools. Some queens receive scholarships, housing benefits, and university stipends, but those benefits can still fall short of covering the true costs of wearing the crown.
Erin Nichols, a senior biology major from Alcorn State University, serves as the 100th Miss Alcorn State University, which provides free room and board for the Mister and Miss titles. Still, she said the financial demands began before she was crowned.
“As Miss Alcorn State University, I received a $2,000 stipend. I believe this amount is totally outdated and needs to be updated,” Nichols said. The stipend is supposed to cover clothes alone, but you also have to pay for hair, nails and makeup. My coronation dress alone was $1,500 out-of-pocket, and I spent my stipend before I even received it in early September because we were already buying outfits for early game days.”
Campaigning for the title brought its own price tag. Despite her university’s $2,000 cap on direct out-of-pocket expenses, Nichols said she raised $8,000 to $10,000 in total campaign donations.
Kendall Townsend is a senior communications major and serves as the 90th Miss Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama. Royal court candidates, she said, are required to raise a mandatory $1,200 campaign fund just to retain their title prior to taking office.
“If I didn’t have a good support system, I would be out of luck. I would have to pick up a part-time job, and being a queen is already a full-time job.”
At Southern University at New Orleans, Kai Lee Harris, a senior majoring in forensic science from Los Angeles, California, receives full tuition, room and board. Harris says she spent more than $1,200 campaigning for her title and another $1,500 to $2,000 after assuming the crown.