| 1 | 1 | | Debbye Turner would Iike you to know that for the most part she's just Iike any other |
| 2 | | 24-year-old veterinary student". She's your typical girl next door. When crowned Miss |
| 3 | | America last September, she became the sixty-third winner since the elections began in |
| 4 | | 1921. She also became the third African-American to wear the crown, but Debbye prefers |
| 5 | | not to emphasise 'The Black Thing'. Tm proud of who and what I am, but being black is |
| 6 | | just one part of me,' she said shortly after winning the title. 'I'd love to be a role model for |
| 7 | | anyone who can take inspiration from me.' |
| 2 | 8 | | Certainly there's a lot in Debbye's Iife to take inspiration from. Born in Hawaii, |
| 9 | | Debbye grew up in Jonesboro, Arkansas. She credits her mother with encouraging her to |
| 10 | | reach higher: 'My mom never told me I couldn't do anything, and I guess that's why I've |
| 11 | | do ne a lot of things.' Among her achievements: a brilliant career as a student at Arkansas |
| 12 | | State University, singing in a university choir, competing in gymnastics, studying ballet, |
| 13 | | playing snare drum, timpani, piano and the marimba ... the list goes on. |
| 14 | | Equally important, Debbye has always been focused. Ever since she was 13, she has |
| 15 | | wanted to be a veterinarian". By the age of 16, after ending third and collecting $200 in the |
| 16 | | Miss Jonesboro competition, she had found a vehicle to help her achieve that goal. So no, |
| 17 | | Debbye didn't always dream of becoming Miss America; the contest was just a means to |
| 18 | | an end. |
| 3 | 19 | | And now the end is in sight. For Debbye the finances to finish her education are |
| 20 | | assured. She has already been awarded $44,000 and will earn an additional $150,000 to |
| 21 | | $200,000 in appearance fees before her reign as Miss America is over (though she will |
| 22 | | have to take a year off from school to do the job). It's c1ear that Debbye Turner has done |
| 23 | | all right. |
| 4 | 24 | | It took seven years and four attempts in competitions in individual states for Debbye |
| 25 | | to make it to the Miss America contest. In 1988, after her third failure in the Miss |
| 26 | | Arkansas election, Debbye and her father had a heart-to-heart talk. 'He never really outand- |
| 27 | | out said "don't do it any more"; he just discouraged me from pursuing it,' she says. |
| 28 | | 'But I was determined. I wanted to get my chance.' |
| 5 | 29 | | The fact that Debbye lost three out of three times in the Miss Arkansas competition |
| 30 | | brings us back to, weil, "The Black Thing'. Is it possible that racism was involved? ' I think |
| 31 | | only the judges can answer th at question,' says Debbye diplomatically. She admits that she |
| 32 | | has met with racism in her Iife but has dealt with it by 'rnaking it obvious that I was better, |
| 33 | | rather than going out and screaming and crying about it.' |
| 6 | 34 | | And does she feel any special ties to the Black community? 'I feel ties to the people |
| 35 | | who sacrificed to give me the privileges that I have today,' she says. 'I can 't be a |
| 36 | | representative of all Black people because I haven't met all Black people. I think it's a |
| 37 | | stupid generality to think that all Black people think alike and feel alike, just as it is to |
| 38 | | think that all white people do. I do feel a responsibility as Debbye Turner to be the best |
| 39 | | that I can.' |
| 7 | 40 | | Debbye Turner is intelligent, funny and extremely well-spoken, but it's sad to see that |
| 41 | | she just doesn't get it right. She still doesn't see that each time she shows her Black face at |
| 42 | | a small school, whether or not she wants to, she is representing us. 'Don't limit me to being |
| 43 | | Black,' she says, 'because there's so much more to me than that.' Okay, Debbye, okay; you |
| 44 | | made your point. Keep on going, sister. We wish you weIl. |
