Taking Home the Title

Brianna Suggs had two plans in life. Plan A involved a life of acting, modeling, and singing, and Plan B took the higher educational route. For over 10 years, Suggs has focused on Plan B through early childhood care and most recently, teaching elementary, middle, and high schoolers. She’s spent the last three years teaching in Ohio. Now, she’s making room for Plan A.

Originally from Milwaukee, Suggs recently tapped into her childhood creativity by entering and winning the 42nd Annual Miss Black Ohio America.

“You should always try to go for your dreams even if they seem far away,” said Suggs.

Suggs is heading to nationals to compete for the title of Miss Black America. The Miss Black America pageant was established in 1968 by Philadelphia businessman J. Morris Anderson to protest against the Miss America pageant, which excluded Black women from competing. The first Miss Black America was crowned on the same day as the Miss America pageant.

Ohio was Sugg’s first pageant competition and it involved four components: an opening dance, fitness, a Q&A, and a talent portion. Suggs hired a pageant director to help her prepare.

Suggs moved to Ohio in 2021 and now she’s attending the University of Dayton for a doctorate in educational leadership. Although she has the title of Ohio, Suggs will never forget her Milwaukee roots.

“I have two homes essentially,” said Suggs. “I’m always going to rep Milwaukee.”

Mixing Plan A and Plan B

Suggs is crossing items off her passion list one thing, or two at a time. To grow her confidence on stage, Suggs does Karaoke with her friends.

“Putting myself constantly in little light gave me confidence for big light,” she said.

Just like Whitney Houston sang, Suggs believes the children are the future. She hopes to find ways to mix her creative juices with her educational skills to create a better teaching and bonding experience for the youth she works with.

Thinking aloud, Suggs sees the possibility of opening a nonprofit for girls to expose them to the world. An all-girls summer camp could be in Suggs’s future or maybe Suggs will open her own school.

“I really love working with youth,” she said.