The Miss USA beauty pageant has been around for quite some time. This year, the pageantry aired its show on June fifth on FOX. From 52 contestants, the final contestants were narrowed down to the following three: Emanii Davis from Georgia, Chelsea Hardin from Hawaii and Deshauna Barber from Washington D.C.

After being tied between Hawaii and Washington D.C., the winner resulted with Deshauna Barber, a 26 year-old from Washington D.C, crowned as Miss USA. It was clear that she was a favorite amongst the judges, especially when she answered Judge Joe Zee’s question about whether the Pentagon’s decision to open up all combat roles to women had “put political correctness over our military’s ability to perform.” Barber responded:

"As a woman in the United States Army, I think it was an amazing job by our government to allow women to integrate into every branch of the military,” she continued, “We are just as tough as men. As a commander of my unit, I'm powerful, I am dedicated and it is important that we recognize that gender does not limit us in the United States."

It was a glorious win for the Army Reserve officer and IT analyst, which not only broke stereotypes for women in the military, but for women of color as well. Unfortunately, she soon faced backlash via social media. Fusion shared some of the comments in their article.

In addition to the comments, Facebook is known for sharing videos and pictures due to what is being shown in the media. I came across a video of a young man and woman speaking about Barber’s win. The young woman expresses that Barber shouldn’t have won because “the District of Columbia is not in the US.” The guy who recorded the video corrected her by explaining that the District of Columbia is actually Washington, D.C. Her response was priceless as she covers her mouth in shock and disbelief.

Most of the comments referred to her race, which is not what the pageant is about. However, there were others who ignored the racist comments and celebrated Barber’s win.

Barber hopes that her newfound title as Miss USA will help and acknowledge her passion in serving the men and women of the U.S military. More specifically, noted from her biography on social media, she wants to focus on the health issues that veterans face when returning from deployments and suicide prevention.

Despite the negativity, Barber is celebrated for her win.

You go girl!!