For decades, Mister and Miss Howard have not only represented Howard on the world stage, but they have also been considered the embodiment of Black intelligence and leadership. On top of their influence on style and culture, many look to them as role models who have actively led engagement in the issues that permeate society. 

For Howard’s Highnesses, regalness extends far beyond a pretty or handsome face. It is an outlook on life. 

Authenticity and Accessibility

The roles and responsibilities of Mister and Miss Howard are not lost on this year’s royal pair, Gregory Allen Jr. and Damaris Moore.

Despite their high titles, they believe their down-to-earth nature is the central reason for their ascendancy to the throne. They want to be known for their authenticity, their accessibility, and their efforts to help others tap the confidence necessary to create positive change. Both are entrepreneurs – Allen is a barber and Moore is a make-up artist – and they feel that they reflect the type of holistically natured Howard student of today. 

Her Excellency Damaris Moore, the 86th Miss Howard

Miss Howard Damaris Moore

Moore is a senior advertising major from Waldorf, Md. Creativity and connection are the threads that weave together everything she does in life.

Instead of spending elaborately on her campaign, Moore focused on meeting people directly. She believes that her election shows that you don’t have to come from any particular background to be Miss Howard or to accomplish other great achievements. One of her goals is to help other students understand that they have innate individual abilities to make positive contributions to society which are then amplified by their Howard experiences. 

“The biggest thing that I’ve learned throughout this journey and my reign thus far is how important it is to carry this legacy,” Moore said. “I want everyone who is a Howard student to understand that they are important. They have something to offer this world. We are uniquely equipped to help the world and be of service to our communities because of the training that we have received here, and there is a legacy that each of us carries.”

Moore is no stranger to campus involvement. Before being elected Miss Howard, she was a make-up artist for Elite Models and a member of the DMV Club, the Undergraduate Student Assembly and the School of Communications Student Council.  Since her freshman year, Moore has built genuine relationships with her fellow students, not for any selfish motive, but just because she believed that people needed someone to whom they could talk. 

A lot of people search for a map when all they need is a compass.

Moore believes that Howard has prepared her to navigate any challenge. “A lot of people search for a map when all they need is a compass,” she said. “Howard has given me a compass. Even if I get lost, I know where North is. I know that I can do it, and I know that it will be done.” 

Howard University has also taught Damaris that there are no limits. She remembers a spring day during her freshman year when she could see the diversity of the student body in full view—business students in suits, someone playing a guitar, an African student playing the drums, and another student painting outside the College of Fine Arts. She recognized that many of those students may have been having challenges in their personal or academic lives, but they preserved. “Whatever it is we go through, we still strive for excellence in truth and service,” she said. ‘This is not an attitude that makes us better than anyone, it is an attitude that we encourage others to adopt.”

Indeed, Moore believes that those who have the privilege of attending an HBCU have the responsibility of service. As she has traveled the country representing Howard, she has encouraged other college students to see themselves as agents of change who can uplift society. “We’re here to take what we’ve learned in this training ground and use it for the benefit of our community,” she said.

His Excellency Gregory Allen Jr., the 48th Mister Howard

Mister Howard Gregory Allen, Jr.

Allen is a senior supply chain management major from Stockton, Calif. Like Moore, Allen takes the relationships that make up his campus network very seriously, including his membership in the Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity. He wants every Howard student to live their life as robustly as possible and to be concerned with the welfare of others, both inside the Howard gates and in the broader community. 

Allen’s campaign theme was “B.R.E.A.T.H.E. Life,” which means “Believe in Renewal, Embody Altruism, Thrive with Hope and Elevate Life.” The theme was a tribute to his little brother, who fought through a debilitating disease in infancy. Just as his brother inspired him to believe in himself, he wants students to see what he is doing and believe they can do it too. 

“With all the talent at Howard University, how are we not to give back?” Allen asked. 

Allen recognizes that Howard is in the spotlight today like never before, especially considering the presidential candidacy of Kamala Harris. He constantly reminds his fellow students that now is the time to shine. He believes that every student can represent the institution well because of their Howard training, which he likens to jumping in the deep end of the pool. Howard, he said, taught him to put everything he has into his endeavors and move full steam ahead. 

“I want to inspire the student body to continue to elevate,” Allen said. “I was going to learn how to swim or die trying.”

The Ideal Image of Distinction

In addition to Mister and Miss Howard, the Royal Court includes Mister and Miss Freshman and two representatives from each school and college. The members of the Court serve as the ambassadors for the University and represent the best of character, school pride, and “the ideal image of distinction while upholding the core values of the institution,” namely leadership, excellence, truth, and service. 

Mister Freshman Jaylen Smith is a film major from Snellville, Ga. Impacting the community is very important to him. He wants to put an emphasis on helping students find their individual pathways to achieving mental health and actualize opportunities to protect their emotional welfare. 

In the future, Smith wants to use his film training to make sure that underrepresented groups see themselves in movies. More immediately, he wants to use his role as Mister Freshman to bring people together. 

“Fostering a community is very important,” Smith said, “So I want to utilize my skills to give back.”

Miss Freshman Renée Larbi is a finance major from London, England, by way of Seattle. She spent much of her childhood in predominantly white schools, leading her to often feel isolated. She wanted to extend herself and join a community where she felt that everyone encouraged each other to be the best version of themselves. 

Even though she is an ocean away from her country of origin, she feels remarkably at home at Howard. She emphasizes that she has found a family at Howard who encourages her to be herself and take risks and wants to make sure her fellow freshmen have that same experience. As a brand-new Bison, she understands how awkward it can be to make new friends and plans to help organize events and activities that help new students like her “find their people.” 

“The experience of looking at somebody else and knowing that we’ve shared the same experiences in life is a great connection factor and it helps me feel more comfortable to just be myself and not hinder my personality just to fit in with somebody else,” Larbi said.

Rounding out the Royal Court are fourteen student leaders representing each school and college. With a diversity of backgrounds and interests, they show the broad spectrum of Bison. 

Miss College of Arts and Sciences Eden Boles is a junior biology major with a chemistry and community health double minor from Little Rock, Ark.

Mister College of Arts and Sciences Jaimon Washington is a junior interdisciplinary studies major with a concentration in environmental studies with a media, journalism, and film minor from Philadelphia, Pa.

Miss College of Engineering and Architecture Ifetayo Spencer is a senior computer science major from Sacramento, Calif.

Mister College of Engineering and Architecture Michael Johnson Jr. is a senior computer science major from Kissimmee, Fla.

Miss School of Business Kirsten Plunkett is a junior business management major from Chicago, Ill.

Mister School of Business Ahmad Edwards is a senior supply chain management major from Cleveland, Ohio.

Miss School of Communications Jada White is a junior broadcast journalism major with a history minor from Atlanta, Ga.

Mister School of Communications Danilo Wrightsell is a senior broadcast journalism major with a psychology minor from Chicago, Ill. 

Miss School of Education Parisia Hutchinson is a senior Honors human development major with a Spanish and maternal and child health double minor from Newburgh, N.Y.

Mister School of Education Marcus Fields is a junior human development major from Southfield, Mich.

Miss College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences Asjah Snead is a senior nursing major from Herdon, Va.

Mister College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences Kevon Williams is a senior health sciences major from Detroit, Mich.

Miss Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts Nia Potter is a senior musical theatre major from Atlanta, Ga.

Mister Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts Uchenna Ukonu is a sophomore acting major from Atlanta, Ga.

Evolution and Revolution

Howard’s selection of its royalty has historically reflected the student body’s evolving perspectives on the state of Blacks in America and the world. 

As the shifts in political awareness and social responsibility permeated the academic landscape, the very nature of the Howard woman, and thus, Miss Howard, also experienced a transformation.

Black pride and Black power have been interwoven into the pageants, campaigns, and platforms that undergird the election process, even as the eligibility criteria has sometimes morphed to dynamically reflect the students’ view of the quintessential Bison. Increasingly emboldened students have often used their votes for king and queen to make a social or political point, and given Howard’s high visibility, those sentiments have often been heard around the world. This has been particularly true with the election of the campus queen.

That may be why the competition is sometimes fierce. For example, Roxy Roker (BFA ’52) lost the race to become Howard’s queen in 1951 by two votes out of the more than 700 votes cast. Unabashed, the Tony Award-nominated actress (and mother of rocker Lenny Kravitz) went on to make television history by starring as Helen Willis on The Jeffersons, part of the first interracial marriage portrayed on network television. 

Howard's Homecoming got its start in 1924, and to be sure, excellence in intellect, persona, grace and glamour, and form and fashion was on full display. In 1929, those attributes were manifested in the first Miss Howard, Mazie Hubbard '29. It wasn’t until 1937, however, that a queen’s election coincided with Homecoming. That year, Ada Deans took the crown as “Queen of the Gridiron.” The queen’s official title changed over the years, becoming “Homecoming Queen” in 1961 and “Miss Expo” in 1972 before returning to “Miss Howard” in 1974. Often, there would also be a “May Queen” elected in the spring. 

Former Miss Howard Jennifer Thomas, now a Howard associate professor and director of the Annenberg Honors Program, chronicled the history of Miss Howard and other campus queens in her Journal of Negro Education article, Pageantry & Politics: Miss Howard University from Civil Rights to Black Power. She noted that the name changes came with changes in the way students thought of themselves and wanted to be represented against the backdrop of the broader society. In the 1960s, for example, the Black Pride movement took hold at the university. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke on campus in 1965, even as many students were growing increasingly frustrated with the pace of nonviolent social change and the expectation of acculturation within an American society that refused to recognize the beauty of Black culture. "As the shifts in political awareness and social responsibility permeated the academic landscape, the very nature of The Howard Woman, and thus, Miss Howard, also experienced a transformation," Thomas observed. 

As graduate Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) (BA ’64) assumed the chairmanship of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and made “Black Power” a famous term, Howard students challenged standards of beauty which presumed that straightened hair for Black women was preferable to natural hair. Those challenges culminated with the 1966 election of Robin Gregory ('67) as Homecoming Queen, the first Howard queen to wear her hair in an afro. Gregory’s election became emblematic of the feelings of many Blacks in the 1960s and was chronicled in the Emmy and Peabody-Award winning series Eyes on the Prize.

By 1968, the student body was insisting that the strength of Black culture should be recognized more overtly on campus. They elected Helen McCrary (Slahuddin) Homecoming queen, who ran on a platform themed "Black is Beautiful." McCrary had been a leader in aggressive student activism that made international news and resulted in the introduction of an African-American history course at Howard. The international spotlight on the Howard queen was so intense that the 1969 Homecoming queen, Gaynelle Henderson, was invited by the government of Jamaica to visit the island and discuss her campaign theme, "Out of Many, One People," which is the motto of that country.

As much as any Howard tradition, the Royal Court symbolizes yesterday, today, and tomorrow. As much as past is prologue, it will continue to evolve to reflect the Howard student of the times. Just as important, it will provide a link to the most important values, traditions, and lessons of Howard’s history so they can be carried into the future.