Miss Subway
Finally in April 1948, Thelma Porter, a psychology major at Brooklyn College, was selected as Miss Subways. Her picture was splashed across black newspapers and magazines nationwide as a point of pride. She was feted nationally, including a reception at the Royal Manor Ballroom. Among those who honored her: Thurgood Marshall.
A year later, Helen Lee became the first Asian-American Miss Subways.
By the 1970s, with a rise of feminism against beauty pageants, the symbolism of a Miss Subway was less portentous, but still notable. In 1974, Sonia Dominguez became the first Dominican to win Miss Subways, which stirred pride in the Latino community. And even then, “there was definitely a pride in the Miss Subways contest,” said Marcia Hocker, who was Miss Subways for several months in 1974 and 1975.
There She Is, From a Trailblazing Beauty Pageant – City Room Blog – NYTimes.com
