THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 22, 1994 TAG: 9411220609
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Marc Tibbs
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
And now for the moment we've all been waiting for: Who will wear the crown of Miss Martin Luther King Jr.!
Who will be the one lucky lady to reign for a year as goodwill ambassador for the I Have A Dream Foundation, which helps underprivileged youngsters pay for their cosmetic surgery.
The swimsuit and talent competition are over and judges have made their decision. The winner, who moved us to tears with her Marilyn Monroe rendition of ``We Shall Overcome,'' is. . .
Sounds ridiculous?
With a few notable exceptions, this may be the path down which Robin Lalande wants to take us. The 34-year-old retail sales clerk said she became frustrated after entering her daughter, now 18 months old, in two beauty pageants this year.
Lalande has decided to organize a pageant for African-American parents who are annoyed at how their children have fared in ``white'' pageants.
The thorn in Lalande's side is an experience she had at a local pageant, where she contends that judges felt a sleeping white baby was somehow more appealing than an alert and bubbly black one.
``My daughter is really cute, and when she was about 6 months old, I entered her into this pageant, and a white baby won in her age group.
``But the baby was sleeping. How can a baby win when you can't see the color of her eyes, or anything? A lot of parents were upset.''
Lalande hopes her pageant will ``represent our African-American youths in a positive manner.''
For a $40 fee, boys and girls in nine age groups can enter.
Categories include ``African Beauties'' and ``African Misters'' - ages 11 to 13, who will be judged on beauty, personality, talent and attire.
Which begs the question: What does any of this have to do with the slain civil rights leader?
Apparently nothing.
Contestants aren't required to do an interpretive dance on passive resistance, tell - in 25 words or fewer - ``What Martin Luther King Means to Me,'' or for matter, even know who King was.
But Lalande has a unique perspective on the civil rights movement.
``Dr. King said that all of us are supposed to be equal, and we (blacks) should have a pageant of our own.''
Funny, I don't remember King's message of racial harmony ever broaching the subject of parental vanity.
Lalande says she's no crazed stage mother, but her pageant idea reflects a growing tendency toward legitimizing the most insignificant of events by simply attaching King's name. Not to mention that it further fractionalizes an already divided society.
If this tendency is left unchecked, King's memory could fall prey to the same kind of commercialism that has pro athletes hawking trips to DisneyWorld seconds after a big victory.
I can see it now: ``Martin Luther King Jr. Plumbing and Heating - Our specialty is peace pipes.''
Or, the MLK video game - ``Dream Makers.'' The object of this game could be completing a March from Selma to Montgomery while artfully dodging police dogs and water cannons. Bonus points for spending a night in a Birmingham jail.
I'm sure Robin Lalande means well. I think my kid's cute, too. But I don't think this is what Martin Luther King Jr. had in mind. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Robin Lalande became annoyed when her awake daughter, Aliya, lost a
pageant to a sleeping white contestant.
by CNB