100 WVIA Way
Pittston, PA 18640

Phone: 570-826-6144
Fax: 570-655-1180

Copyright © 2025 WVIA, all rights reserved. WVIA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How the Miss America pageant ignited a battle over beauty, race and power

NPR | By Tonya Mosley
Published August 3, 2026 at 3:45 PM EDT

Historian Micki McElya revisits one September afternoon in 1968, Atlantic City, when the Miss America pageant collided with a changing country. Her new book is Liberation Summer.

Copyright 2026 NPR
Arts
Tonya Mosley
Tonya Mosley is a co-host of Fresh Air.