The 2005 Miss Black NIU pageant is at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom.

All students and faculty are invited to attend the competition and crowning of the 2005 Queen Mother, the winner’s title.

“This is an opportunity for young women to show their talents,” said LaVerne Gyant, director of the Center for Black Studies. “I have seen young women who are very shy just blossom on stage.”

This year’s pageant contestants are junior journalism major Janice Allen, senior journalism major Tamara Duncan, senior early childhood education major Nicole Jones and junior media studies major Collette Walton.

Allen sees the competition as an opportunity to challenge herself.

“It’s a challenge to prove to myself that I can step out of my comfort zone and participate,” Allen said. “Afterwards I’ll be proud of myself for doing it.”

For Duncan, the pageant is a cause and a family affair.

“I decided to run because I don’t see a lot of things going on for African-American women to represent themselves,” Duncan said. “My older sister participated before, so I wanted to get in this year.”

Tia Stafford, the 2004 Queen Mother and a senior electrical engineering major, is helping coordinate this year’s pageant.

“People who were in the pageant help to organize it the next year,” Stafford said. “We have been very blessed to have several Queen Mothers help out this year.”

In addition to helping organize a future pageant, the winner also speaks at several school functions such as new student welcome days and culture fests for the duration of her title.

The pageant consists of a dance, a questionnaire section and a talent portion. Contestants choose their performances for the talent portion.

“Some people dance, two this year are going to sing, some people give poems and some write and perform dramatic pieces for the audience,” Stafford said.

Contestant’s must run before their last school year and have a minimum 2.3 GPA.

“The winner receives gifts such as books, African artwork and other things,” Gyant said. “Last year we were able to raise enough money to give the winner a small scholarship.”

The Miss Black NIU pageant is in its 20th year and normally does not receive NIU’s financial support.

“The pageant is self-sponsored,” Gyant said. “Different organizations on campus have helped raise money, but the contestants themselves raise the majority of the money on their own.”

Each contestant must do her part to raise enough money to meet the pageant’s $1,000 budget.

“We can sell space in the ad books [pageant programs] to help raise money,” Walton said. “It was hard work trying to raise the money.”

Some organizations such as the NIU’s NAACP chapter, Ebony Women, B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S. and Kappa Alpha Psi also donated to the 2005 pageant.