Representing Butler County, Alexis Smith Kansas was crowned Miss Kansas 2024 in June and quickly went viral for sharing a personal unpleasant experience with the audience. Smith made history as the third Black woman to wear the Miss Kansas crown in the pageant’s 82-year history. Thus, it was an exciting moment for the newly crowned beauty queen and her fans but the crown does not take credit for the recognition she gained afterward.
The Wichita native stirred all kinds of emotions among audience members when she answered the question about her vision for the crown. According to Smith, she is most passionate about ending domestic violence, a vice that has plagued the women in her family for too long. She went on to call out her former abuser, expressing her desire to curb such relationships. Smith’s popularity has skyrocketed following her victory at the pageant and people want to know her plans for the platform.
The Reason Why Miss Kansas 2024 Went Viral
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Alexis Smith competed as Miss Butler County at the Miss Kansas 2024 pageant and won but this is not why she has been hogging headlines. During the final interview at the contest, she shocked the crowd and panel of judges with her answer about what her vision would be if she were named Miss Kansas 2024. Smith declared her intention to use her platform to fight domestic violence which she has been a victim of and went on to inform everyone that her abuser was in the crowd. Seeing her alleged abuser at the event ruffled her feathers but she didn’t allow him to ruin the moment for her.
“My vision as the next Miss Kansas is to eliminate unhealthy and abusive relationships,” Smith said. She added, “Matter of fact, some of you in this audience saw me very emotional because my abuser is here today. But that’s not going to stop me from being on this Miss Kansas stage and from representing as the next Miss Kansas.” According to the beauty queen, she has reclaimed her life and will do everything in her power to help other victims.
A video clip of the Miss Kansas 2024 speech went viral days after the event was held on June 8 at Pratt Community College. The video was shared on Miss Kansas Organization‘s social media pages and has gained hundreds of thousands of views. Alexis Smith has also gained prominence through the viral clip.
The Viral Miss Kansas 2024 Moment Reportedly Stems From a Family History of Abusive Relationships
On July 18, 2024, Alexis Smith reiterated her vision to end abusive relationships during an enlightening interview with KSNW, NBC’s affiliate in Wichita, Kansas. The beauty queen revealed that her abusive relationship began when she was just 14, ending around 2018-2019. She moved to Texas to escape the bad memories but returned to Wichita for a nursing degree at Newman University.
Beyond being a victim and survivor of domestic violence, Smith also shared that “every single woman” in her family has had their share of domestic violence, emphasizing the reason she is very passionate about it. “Just having those opportunities to have that kind of impact, not only for myself, but other young men women — domestic violence does not discriminate — it’s something that I’m incredibly excited about to do on a large scale,” she said.
How Miss Kansas 2024 Aims To End Domestic Violence
After declaring herself an advocate for domestic violence survivors at the Miss Kansas 2024 competition, Alexis Smith is ready to use her platform to transform lives. One of her first projects as Miss Kansas is tagged Respect Reclaimed: Advocating for Healthy Relationships, a community service initiative that aims to help victims of abuse reclaim power and stand strong. Also, she is leveraging her talent as a ventriloquist to reach out to the younger generation on this mission.
“I’ve been a ventriloquist for 19 years, and so, especially when I go into those youth classrooms, something that I’ve thought about is healthy friend puppets, and being able to create our own special ventriloquism dolls that is filled with different characteristics of healthy relationships that they want to see within the people around them,” she explains. Inspired by her personal experience, nothing seems to stand in her way of getting the message out to everyone who need to hear it. Read Loni Willison‘s struggles from riches to rags.
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