Averie Bishop is crowned Miss Texas, a first for an Asian American woman
The moment 25-year-old Averie Bishop found out she won Miss Texas, the first Asian American woman to do so.
"Representation saves lives," Bishop told Narcity. "I convinced myself for the longest time that I did not deserve to be Miss Texas because I never saw anyone who looked like me represent our state." Bishop is of Filipina descent.
“My mom signed me up for an Asian-American cultural pageant within our community, so I got to wear Filipino attire and reconnect with her culture,” she said to NBC 5.
“I’m the official ambassador of the Texas Cares for Children Program. I get to also expand my social impact initiative which is ‘Y’all Means All’ and it emphasizes the importance of diversity and inclusion in our Lone Star State,” she continued.
“From the way I spoke, the shape of my eyes, my flat nose, my upbringing. The financial circumstances I grew up in and sometimes the way that my mom spoke,” she recalled. “A lot of times people are racist or say rude things because they just don’t understand what they don’t know. We fear what we don’t know and my mission as Miss Texas and as a person, in general, is to truly teach everyone in our state that a Texan can look like me and a Texan can look like you.”
In addition to the newly crowned Miss Texas, Bishop is a lawyer and a digital content creator. She will represent Texas in the Miss America pageant which takes place in Connecticut this December.
