First Indian-American Wins Miss America

While our hometown girl Brittany Smith of Elmhurst was one of 38 girls who did not make the semifinals in the Miss America contest Sunday night, she made us proud nonetheless.


It was Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, who took home the crown, becoming the first Indian-American to be named Miss America. 

The 24-year-old is a native of Fayetteville, N.Y., whose father emigrated from India 30 years ago, according to CNN.com. Davuluri graduated from the University of Michigan with with a degree in brain behavior and cognitive science and is hoping to be a physician one day, like her father, according to the article. 

Twitter exploded following Devuluri's win with racist comments from some people upset over an Indian-American winning Miss America. Others called Devuluri an Arab went so far as to claim she has linked to al-Qaeda or terrorist groups, according to a Buzzfeed article that listed several tweets regarding Davuluri. 

Davuluri told the Associated Press she "will rise above" the racist comments and has always viewed herself as "first and foremost American."