For fifty-five years the beauty contest that started as a tourist gimmick by the Atlantic City boardwalk commission still kept to its roots: only white girls. But as decades brought changes, the contest, too, had to adjust. The year that Vanessa Williams won the competition, three others — Miss New Jersey, Miss Maryland and Miss North Carolina — were African American, but history was against her: no black contestant finished higher than fourth before, and the selection jury was all white. In the end, improbably, it came down to Williams and Miss New Jersey, Suzette Charles.

On this day, September 17, 1983, Vanessa Williams won the Miss America contest, becoming the first black woman with the crown and breaking yet another color barrier in the United States.

For her part, Williams played down the role of race. “I don’t believe the fact that I am black has anything to do with my qualifications to be Miss America,” she told People magazine. She had a white boyfriend, which she acknowledged might “make waves,” but she considered herself transcending race. Asked if she would use her platform to speak up for causes important to African-Americans, she replied “I am a spokesperson, but I’m also an individual with my own opinions. Just because I am black doesn’t mean I am going to favor every black cause and opinion.”