Below is an excerpt from a blog published on BlogHer exclusively.

Aphrodite Brown

I first learned this lesson in 1984.  My mother made me watch as Vanessa Williams made history, becoming the first Black woman ever to earn the title of Miss America.  I was also forced to watch her news conference where she confirmed that artistic (read: nude) photos of her had been obtained by Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione and would be published.  Ms. Williams resigned her crown, the public outrage that Miss America was not just nude, but nude with another woman, exacted a toll she was not prepared to pay.