{"id":70228,"date":"2020-12-17T01:34:23","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T01:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=70228"},"modified":"2020-12-17T01:34:23","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T01:34:23","slug":"miss-usa-asya-branch-opens-fathers-incarceration-almost-homeless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=70228","title":{"rendered":"Miss USA Asya Branch opens up about father\u2019s incarceration: ‘We were almost homeless’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Asya Branch\u00a0made history when she became the first Black woman to be crowned Miss Mississippi USA in 2019, following in the footsteps of the Black women who came before her within the Miss Universe organization. But even as she was crowned as\u00a0Miss USA\u00a02020 by her predecessor\u00a0Cheslie Kryst\u00a0\u2014 one of\u00a0five Black women\u00a0to hold a title from the world\u2019s top beauty pageants at the same time \u2014 Branch knew that her path would be different.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGrowing up, I was called an Oreo \u2014 black on the outside white on the inside,\u201d Branch tells Yahoo Lifestyle, referring to her upbringing in the predominantly white town of Booneville, Miss. \u201cIt was hard to find my friend group that would accept me as me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old explains that she grew up struggling with her identity, as one of eight siblings striving to make her own path. Along the way, however, she found herself having to nurture others more than she could herself when her father became incarcerated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith my father\u2019s incarceration we lost our main source of income, we were almost homeless,\u201d she says. \u201cI had to learn at a very young age, how to take care of my younger sisters, how to take care of myself, all while watching my friends live their fun, fabulous lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as she was crowned wearing a black and white gown to symbolize the very nickname she once felt defined by, Branch explains that she finally felt free. \u201cThat dress is like an Oreo and I was just like, \u2018Wow, this is my moment of freedom and liberation from the hardships and the difficulties that I faced in my youth.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n

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The adversity that she faced and overcame is what she now strives to educate others about with her new platform. While much of that work is centered around the criminal justice system, Branch acknowledges the work that\u00a0Kim Kardashian West\u00a0has done in bringing the issue to the forefront of pop culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that [Kardashian West] speaking out about it was a major move in the right direction. I want to be able to make that impact as well,\u201d Branch says. \u201cMy focus has always been on the lives of the inmates and their relationships with their families because so often children are abandoned by their parents when they are incarcerated.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Mississippi native has already faced backlash for assumptions made about her political beliefs and her upbringing, she reminds those who look up to her not to \u201ctrade your authenticity for approval.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adv<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n