In 1970 , however , Cheryl Browne , Miss Iowa 1970 , competed as the first African-American contestant in the Miss America 1971 pageant . She also participated in one of the last USO-Miss America tours in Vietnam . A decade later in 1983 , Miss New York ( and Miss Syracuse ) 1983 , Vanessa Williams ( the first African-American woman to win the competition as Miss America 1984 ) , faced discrimination in response to her win and later resigned under pressure due to a scandal involving nude photographs . Three decades after these events , Miss New York ( and Miss Syracuse ) 2013 , Nina Davuluri , the first Indian-American woman to win the crown as Miss America 2014 , faced xenophobic and racist comments in social media when she won . Two years later at the Miss America 2016 pageant , former Miss America CEO Sam Haskell apologized to Vanessa Williams ( who was serving as head judge ) for what was said to her during the events of 1984
Miss America 1971
Miss America 1971
Miss America