Ariana Johnson, Ms. Black Ohio 2025, talks about Black pageantry, the value of her Alpha Kappa Alpha role models, and her journey to becoming a social worker. As aspiring model, Ariana discusses women as progressive changemakers, hair discrimination in the workplace and her advocacy for maternal health.
Podcast Summary
Ariana Johnson, the newly crowned Ms. Black Ohio USA 2025 (and Ms. Black Ohio USA 2024), joins us on a riveting journey through her life of advocacy and ambition. Raised with an appreciation for diverse cultures, Ariana brings rich insights into how travel and education shaped her values. Our conversation reveals her gratitude for her strong women role models around her, her passion for the arts and her love of childhood icons like Beverly Cleary and the American Girl series, which fueled her imagination and inspired her advocacy work.
Ariana's experience in pageantry, a world she once hesitated to enter, transformed her path and empowered her mission. Through pageants like the American Royal Beauties, she found a supportive community that celebrated her dedication to social equity and mental health advocacy. Her commitment shines as she shares the influence of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority in her journey, where mentorship and positive role models have played a crucial role.
We tackle pertinent issues like hair discrimination, which affects Black women in professional settings, and discuss Ariana's impactful work with the FAMICOS Foundation. With aspirations in the family court system, modeling, and maybe even moving to New York City or Miami to pursue her dreams, Ariana's story is one of determination and purpose. Her pride in representing Ohio and commitment to maternal health in the Black community make this episode a compelling testament to her journey and advocacy. Join us for an inspiring narrative of empowerment and ambition that promises to engage and uplift.
Reach Ariana on Instagram or Ariana on LinkedIn
CHAPTERS
(00:03) Journey of Advocacy and Ambition
Miss Black Ohio USA 2024 discusses her childhood love for diverse cultures, pageantry as a platform for advocacy, and the impact of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
(14:14) Empowering Black Women Through Pageantry
Personal journey in music and pageantry, choir and flute experiences, introduction to pageantry at 19, crowned print model title in American Royal Beauties.
(28:01) Navigating Advocacy and Empowerment
Journey into social work through family mediation, mentorship, and hair discrimination in professional settings.
(38:05) Career Dreams and Aspirations
Hair discrimination in the Black community, community development work, aspirations in family court and modeling industry.
(45:16) Miss Black Ohio's Platform and Pride
Miss Black Ohio shares her dedication to her platform and commitment to maternal health in the Black community, representing Ohio with pride.
[00:00:00] Christi: Welcome to Moving Along. My guest today is Ariana Johnson, Ms. Black, Ohio, USA 2024. She is an advocate for social equity and mental health. She is a master's candidate in social services administration at Case Western Reserve University, and she graduated from the Cleveland School of the Arts and Cleveland State University.
[00:00:29] Christi: Welcome, Ariana.
[00:00:31] Ariana: Hello, Christi. How are you? Thank you for having me.
[00:00:34] Christi: Well, thank you for being here. It's my pleasure. I told you I've never met a beauty queen before, and it's exciting. It's
[00:00:43] Ariana: Well, we're both beauty queens. How about that? Cause like I said, I love your hair and you're the green. I love, I love green. So that's one of my favorite colors. So I'm so happy. You just look so beautiful.
[00:00:53] Christi: Oh, thank you. Ariana, tell me, you were born and raised in Cleveland. What did travel and moving mean to you as a child?
[00:01:02] Ariana: Well traveling and moving meant a lot to me. Because I was taught to study different cultures before I actually went to the actual states. So I spent a lot of time in the library studying different states and you know, what, different states were known for and things of that sort. traveling also meant family, you know, because I have family from different parts of the country. I have family from New York, upstate New York and New York city. I have family in the South Jacksonville, Florida, where my grandmother's from and Louisiana and Detroit, Michigan. And so it's just, going to different places and studying different places, but particularly study in different places.
[00:01:46] Ariana: And I got that education from, you know, home because education was definitely that something that's a precedence in my household and also from the library because I was reared in a household with Me and my three nieces and because my brother is 18 years older than me, my nieces and I are very close in age. So the library was like the place that my mom could take us for free. But we were able to go in and read books and read about different places and locations. And it was almost as if we were there. So traveling and exploration, it means a lot to me because. of the education side of things and knowing about different states and different cultures within states was very fascinating to me as a little girl.
[00:02:29] Christi: That's great. Did you have a favorite author?
[00:02:32] Ariana: My favorite author it depends. I was really more so into non fiction so I didn't have a particular non fiction author at the time. But I will say when I got to, like, elementary school. I love Beverly Cleary books. Those are my favorite Ramona and Beezus. Those are my favorite books. And then, oh, I also loved the American Girl series because that was a merge between, you know, like, Feminine, somewhat of a Barbie type world mixed in with historical fiction.
[00:03:08] Ariana: I loved that, especially Molly. My mom got me like the Molly book series, and I used to just read the Molly book series all the time. Molly and Addie. But the American Girl series, and then Beverly Clearly when I was younger. Those were my two favorite books.
[00:03:25] Christi: What does pageantry mean to you?
[00:03:28] Ariana: Well, it means a lot of things. I started in pageantry when I was 19 years old. I competed in the Miss Teen Cleveland Pageant. And initially I just thought that it was, you know, You know, just like everything, like a lot of people thought you just walk on a stage with a beautiful ball gown and you talk about world peace.
[00:03:47] Ariana: And that's what I took it as. And I really didn't take it seriously until I became an adult. And now I understand that pageantry is the same thing as advocacy. you're actually representing a cause that you care about. On a national as well as sometimes an international stage, you're an ambassador. And that means that you have to always have your best foot forward. Not only on behalf of the pageant system that you're representing, but also the platform in which you are representing. So if you're representing mental health, breast cancer awareness, domestic violence. pay equity in the workplace as it pertains to lessening the gender gap. You always have to be mindful, you know, research, of course, but then you always have to be always have to put your best foot forward and know that somebody is watching you and paying attention to what you're saying. It's definitely the ultimate form of ambassadorship. It's not just about wearing a ball gown or a bathing suit, it's, representing your state and the platform and a platform that you care about.
[00:04:51] Christi: And you see yourself as an ambassador now, don't you? How
[00:04:56] Ariana: Very much so. You know, and for various reasons not only am I I'm a devout Christian, so I represent my Christian faith and, you know, with my title, I represent my title, you know, as Miss Black Ohio USA. I'm a member of a sorority and, you know, the, the sorority more of the values that align with our sorority. So yes, I do represent myself as an, as an ambassador. And I do have to be very meticulous about how I carry myself. You know, I'm not always going to be perfect, but I think that being a role model is always. in the forefront of my mind. That I can't just make a rash decision based on my emotions. I always have to, you know, navigate through life with intention.
[00:05:40] Christi: this is a question I had for you before you mentioned the sorority, but I was going to say, how does membership in the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, this is the same sorority as Kamala Harris,
[00:05:54] Ariana: I know.
[00:05:55] Christi: and so many, so many notable Black women since. It's the sorority's founding in 1908, right?
[00:06:03] Ariana: ma'am. Yes.
[00:06:04] Christi: how does being a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, AKA connect to your personal journey?
[00:06:12] Ariana: It does because I always say that every woman in my life Aside from my mom and my grandmother who played a positive role in my life were members of AKA. My aunt was an AKA, my cousin is an AKA, my favorite teacher in high school was an AKA, my choir instructor was an AKA, like all of these women. who helped me just transition into girlhood into young adulthood. We're members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. And, just looking up the history of, AKA and knowing the women that the leadership that the organization has cultivated through, you know, women such as Coretta Scott King and Rosa Parks and Dr.
[00:06:54] Ariana: Maya Angelou and artisans like Alicia Keys and you, my favorite singer in the whole entire world, Brandy. She's a member of AKA as well as Vice President Kamala Harris. I knew that the organization was for me that, we are very, like I said, intentional on what we do. We are very focused on. culture as well as helping the next generation of young women regardless of if they're a 1st generation college graduate, or if they come from a legacy of collegiate women to just, transition through college and graduate. you know, the graduate life, with the understanding that it's not about paying it back, but paying it forward.
[00:07:34] Ariana: And so from the women who helped me, throughout my girlhood and my adolescence to being a college student. And now that I'm an A. K. A. I just take that lineage of, you know, helping women who are Just transition into their best selves on behalf of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority Incorporated, if that makes sense.
[00:07:53] Christi: Oh, it sure does. you had a lot of very strong women role models in your life. So you move from Beverly Cleary and American Girl, Molly. Which one was Molly?
[00:08:07] Ariana: She was the girl with the glasses, her era was like the World War II, like in the 40s, 50s, and I connected with her because I, she wore glasses, and I wore glasses. So, that was like the, big connection. It's like, oh, she wear glasses, you know, she wears glasses, and she was skinny. She had like really skinny spaghetti legs. I had skinny spaghetti legs, and people would call me wiry. And so, I remember seeing her, and I was like, oh, she kind of looks like me. Especially the glasses. That's what made me connect well with Molly.
[00:08:41] Christi: So from Beverly Cleary Ramona and American Girls Molly from World War II you have presumably some librarians in there. Right? And to the point where you enter your first pageant at age 19 you have this really strong network of women around you, AKA women, a lot of them, not all of them, but a lot of them. And not only in Cleveland, but in kind of different places in Florida and New York and Detroit. And now do you feel that you? you said about paying it forward, you yourself are now a role model. And are you role model to younger family members, other students undergraduates,
[00:09:26] Ariana: I'm a role model to a lot of women, a lot of young ladies. I've mentored with the organization called Diamonds in the Rough Incorporated here in Cleveland, Ohio. I've spoke to young ladies for an organization here in Cleveland called Queen I Am.
[00:09:41] Ariana: I've done, you know, some work with them. I've also volunteered and, and been a mentor in an organization called Leading Ladies. Incorporated. I was the youth administrator at my church, Greater Faith Missionary Baptist Church, where I was able to mentor young ladies. my younger cousins, my nieces, they know that if they need to talk that I'm here.
[00:10:02] Ariana: I'm definitely somebody who, I'm 30, 34 years old. So I understand how it feels to be a teenager, but then I understand how it feels to navigate to adulthood. And I think that, teenage girls who interact with me, they understand that. I think they can sense that I've been there before and I'm not, In a place of my role model hood, where I'm sitting on a soap box, looking down, trying to, tell them what they need to do, but I'm more so helping them, to try to figure it out on their own and figure it out for themselves and know that, try, more so trying to empower them to be their best selves and, you know, just take the initiative to do what they have to do on their own as smart, independent young ladies, but also keeping them mindful of the do's and don'ts as it pertains to decision making.
[00:10:50] Christi: I want to talk more about your advocacy But first, what are some of the obstacles that you yourself have had to overcome in this journey so far?
[00:11:00] Ariana: Well, I mean, I grew up in the South Collinwood area of Cleveland, Ohio, which is not the best place to grow up in. I grew up in an area that was inundated with a lot of You know, violence, a lot of gang wars, a lot of drugs, some prostitutes, you know, I saw young ladies sometimes come do a prostitution in, in broad daylight. My mother was very apprehensive about me wandering throughout the neighborhood, to be honest with you, until I became like a Preteen teenager. I wasn't really able to leave the porch, which was like an ongoing joke with my friends Like she can't go anywhere. We have to stay here with Ariana So I grew up in like that type of neighborhood in addition to the fact that I dealt with a lot of elitism. Growing up, my dad was a sanitation worker for the city of Cleveland, but I attended private Christian school. And I remember sometimes being embarrassed of, I wouldn't say being embarrassed, but I would, Tell people, you know, at my, in my class that my dad was a sanitation worker and people would start laughing, you know what I mean?
[00:12:07] Ariana: So I had to deal with a lot of, you know, elitism issues as well as, you know, growing up in not the most safest neighborhood in Cleveland. But, you know, by the grace of God and I had a strong support system, I was able to live a very well rounded childhood. You know, I, I went to, like I said, private Christian school.
[00:12:27] Ariana: I went to performing arts camp. My mom, you know, she made sure that I was involved in performing arts programs, I went to the theater. Orchestra. I went to the theater. I went to the Cleveland Museum of Art. I was definitely inundated with a lot of performing art and visual art education. And I stayed grounded in church.
[00:12:47] Ariana: So, you know, though I was, exposed to a lot of things, just growing up in my neighborhood, I was still able to escape and I was still able to know that there was a world outside of, the street that I grew up on.
[00:12:59] Christi: Is your mom still there?
[00:13:00] Ariana: Yeah.
[00:13:01] Christi: and dad?
[00:13:02] Ariana: Well, currently, no. They're out and about. But I will tell them that you said hello.
[00:13:09] Christi: Okay. I didn't yeah, when you said you escaped, I thought, Hmm, where did you escape to that they're there?
[00:13:19] Ariana: they're still here. I was just saying my performing arts education was an outlet for me growing up. because there was a lot that was going on. on my street that sometimes that was just, it was a part of the culture in which, we lived and it was no way to escape it. It just happens. Nobody wanted it to happen, but it happens anyway.
[00:13:39] Christi: Did you play an instrument?
[00:13:40] Ariana: I did briefly, I played the flute and my mother swears it was a recorder, but it was a flute and I remember it in middle elementary school and I remember not being good at playing it.
[00:13:51] Christi: Did you sing too?
[00:13:53] Ariana: I do sing as I started singing when I was four. I would sing in the choir. I took vocal classes at the Cleveland School of the Arts. I wanted to be a vocal major. That was one of my biggest regrets, but I didn't, I ended up being a theater major instead. But I would sing during, you know, in different plays and stuff. So I have, I have a pretty decent voice.
[00:14:13] Christi: You still in the choir
[00:14:14] Ariana: No, I'm not. And my, every time I come to church, my choir director, he gives me the side eye because he knows that I can sing it. I just won't come to choir. I won't come to choir practice. I used to be in the choir when I was in college, but I left. I don't, I guess, as I recall, it was a time scheduling thing because they used to meet, you know, the choir rehearsal was, you know, And I think it conflicted with my undergraduate schedule, but now that I'm toward the end of my graduate education, I might rejoin the choir.
[00:14:46] Christi: because you could still sing. Is there a talent component to becoming Ms. Black Ohio? To the Ms. Black USA ecosystem.
[00:14:55] Ariana: Oh, yes. So locally or statewide you have to have a talent is a talent competition. Last year, you could either sing, you can present Something that you put together, like one of the former Miss Black Ohio, M. I. S. S. Black Ohio. She has a fashion line and she presented pieces of from her fashion line. I did a oratory presentation where I spoke about maternal health in the African American community. And so that was my talent. But when I prepared to go to nationals, because there were so many of us, we had to send in talent, videos. So it was us, like, in this very secluded area, and we would present our talent. And during that segment, I sung. And so after I, you know, I recorded everything, I sent it over to nationals. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to compete nationally. I'll be competing next year because there was a family emergency, so I wasn't able to compete.
[00:15:59] Christi: I was going to ask what song you sang.
[00:16:01] Ariana: I sung His Eyes on the Sparrow, which is like one of, that's a go to.
[00:16:08] Christi: Right. No, that's great. now, was it acapella or did you have an accompanist?
[00:16:12] Ariana: sung acapella, yes.
[00:16:15] Christi: That takes a lot of courage.
[00:16:17] Ariana: Yeah,
[00:16:18] Christi: Yeah. Why did you decide at age 19? I mean, there's kids that start, you know, when they're like seven years old in the pageant circuit, but why it, what impelled you, compelled you to do this at 19
[00:16:35] Ariana: Well, I mean, to be honest with you, pageantry wasn't really introduced to me when I was younger. That's not true. I wanted to compete in a pageant. At 13, I presented the idea to my mother and my mother said, absolutely not. Because my mother is very progressive. And she felt like a lot of people feel like you're not going to walk up and down the stage in a bikini at 13 years old.
[00:17:03] Ariana: I won't allow you to do it. So I let it go. And then, you know, I went through high school and I was involved in theater and music. And so by the time I got into college, the opportunity presented itself for me to be in a pageant again. And so I read over, you know, the rules. And this, Competition did not require a bathing suit or did not have a bathing suit segment. So even though I was 19 years old and I was still an adult, my mother, you know, my mother's opinion, it means a lot to me even still, I'm really, a lot of my decisions, you know, I, I, But I really take heed to what my mother says because my mother, she's never steered me wrong. but I, I read over the rules.
[00:17:50] Ariana: I read over the different segments and there was no bathing suit. So I said, Hey, I'm going for it. And, you know, I competed for the Miss Teen Cleveland pageant.
[00:17:59] Christi: and did you win? You won.
[00:18:00] Ariana: I did not win. I did not win, but it was it was a few things. I was sick. I mean I was Oh my goodness. It I was like tumultuously Tumultuously ill I had a really bad stomach bug and every time I would go on stage To do my pageant walk I would after I was done. I would rush off stage go to the bathroom and Then run on, then run behind stage, change my clothes into the next segment, rush on stage, you know, compete, then rush off stage, go to the bathroom.
[00:18:30] Ariana: It was terrible. I was sick. My mother was sick. It was a terrible experience, but I learned so much and I had so much fun. And one thing that really like stuck well with me was like the sisterhood. Everyone, all of the girls, we were very supportive of each other. You would have thought that We spent like six months working together when we just met each other within a matter of weeks.
[00:18:54] Ariana: I think it was three weeks leading up to the regional competition.
[00:18:58] Christi: A lot of people probably would have dropped out after that initial experience.
[00:19:03] Ariana: No, no, I enjoyed it. Even though I wish I would have been able to like enjoy it in its entirety, but I wasn't able to because I was sick, but I really did enjoy it so much. So that I said that if I ever had an opportunity to do it again, I would. So thank God he, presented to me the opportunity to do it again. I was able to compete in the American Royal beauties pageant in 2023. As, as Miss Great Lakes. And that was fun, I was able to go to nationals in Cincinnati and I won the print model competition. I won the print model title. So that was, that was really fun. And like I said, every pageantry system that I have been a part of. It's pretty, it's really much a sisterhood. It really doesn't feel like a competition. Like we're just there to help each other and network and empower each other. It's a really great space to be a part of. I know it's not for every woman, but you know, it's definitely a space where you can feel empowered.
[00:20:03] Christi: Do you consider yourself a progressive like your mom?
[00:20:06] Ariana: I do. I really, really do. I think that women, we are the backbone of this country. we have been at the forefront of pretty much every movement that has ever been in this country, from civil rights to the, obviously the suffrage movement, to the pay equity movement, even down to the LGBTQIA plus, community. We are at the forefront when men are at, sometimes men are at home, just watching TV. If you go to like the PTA meetings that a lot of them consist of women. If you go to like all of the Civic club meetings. A lot of the membership consists of a lot of women. You know what I mean? So I think that women are definitely we are the change makers and we are the trendsetters and we make things happen and when we get together and we Rally behind an issue the issue is not only heard but it's it's resolved because you know It means the world to us because Just like the saying, happy wife, happy life. If the woman in a, if women in the community are not happy, it won't grow and flourish because we are the ones to make it grow and flourish. We are the backbones of our communities.
[00:21:13] Christi: I couldn't have said it better myself. I think you're absolutely right.
[00:21:18] Ariana: Yeah. I think that the legacy of black women specifically here in America, you know, just from slavery to like post reconstruction, feminist movement, you know, a lot of black women, to be honest with you, are not really in agreeance with some, something, something, not all things. But a lot of it has to do with the fact that Black women, we had no choice but to work.
[00:21:41] Ariana: You know, we had no choice but to work and take care of the household because there were so many systemic issues that stopped a lot of Black men from being in the home, from lynching to the prison system to, black men not being comfortable taking care of their families because they just didn't have the money to take care of them.
[00:21:59] Ariana: So sometimes, unfortunately they would just walk away. And so black women had to be there to like, pick up the pieces and, you know, nurture our children in addition to going out in the workforce and working and providing for our children. And sometimes it can be empowering, but Case in point, this past presidential election, I noticed that a lot of black women, we call it, we always have our cape on, meaning that, we're their strength, and we're the backbone, and we, the ones who take care of things, we're the ones who make noise about issues, but now I'm noticing that a lot of black women are saying We need to take a break.
[00:22:34] Ariana: We need to rest. We need to, you know, reset figure out what we want to do and take the Cape off. That's the phrase that I've been hearing a lot to take the Cape off and just make sure that we're okay and that we're centered because it's not always empowering to be in charge of everything all the time and to fight for everything all the time.
[00:22:56] Ariana: Sometimes we need to. and reset and like replenish and rejuvenate, especially when things like this happen. So I, as a black woman, a young black woman, I'm very empowered when I hear stories about Fannie Lou Hamer and Septima Clark and even like my grandmothers, my paternal grandmother had six children.
[00:23:16] Ariana: And she worked, and she went back to school, and she, got her certificate in culinary arts. My other grandmother she had, my aunt, my mom, and my, my, my two aunts. So she had three children and she reared them on her own and she worked and she went, she has still had time to serve her church.
[00:23:37] Ariana: She was a volunteer for Herring Road Hospital here in Cleveland for years. So I'm empowered by that, but as somebody who is well versed in mental health, I don't want to do that. I want to be able to balance both hard work and yet replenishment,
[00:23:55] Christi: Self care.
[00:23:56] Christi: Yeah,
[00:23:58] Christi: Well, that, that's, that's a good that's a good lead into my question about what is the connection between your journey to becoming Ms. Black Ohio and mental health?
[00:24:09] Ariana: the connection for me is being in a space where I am I'm understood as a black woman. I grew up in like, I grew up in a very diverse world. As I mentioned, I grew up in the South Collinwood area, which is a predominantly black area. But then I went to a, a school with. Mostly white children, some black children, some international children.
[00:24:31] Ariana: My performing arts background consisted of, a diverse background of people. And in the pageantry world, you know, sometimes being a black woman in a predominantly white pageantry space can be a little. You know what I mean? Just as far as, you know, how you are perceived, how your beauty is perceived, how your hair is looked at.
[00:24:54] Ariana: Do I wear braids? Do I wear my hair natural? Should I wear a weave? Should I wear my hair straight? How what can I do to make myself a little bit more presentable? So that I could, you know, achieve the goal of bringing home a crown or a sash. Whereas in a, black pageantry space, I have a little bit more leniency as it pertains to how I present myself as a black woman. And I don't have to be conscientious about those decisions because if I wear braids, you know, they're going to understand why I chose that hairstyle. If I, you know, choose this platform of black maternal health. you know, I won't become questioned or I won't have to experience any type of microaggressions.
[00:25:41] Ariana: I feel like I'm in a place where people understand the decisions that I make and they don't have to question it or they don't have to feel like they have to understand it. they get it. And that's very mentally comforting for me.
[00:25:55] Christi: So, peace of mind is, It's a big part of this, your connection with the mental health thing. It's like, you, you don't have like some cousin who's schizophrenic or something. And that's why you're like, focus on
[00:26:10] Ariana: Well, I do come from, I have family members. who have dealt with mental health issues. And also have advocates in the mental health space. My uncle who also graduated from Case, he was a psychiatrist. My cousin is a psychiatrist as well. I have cousins who are social workers. So you know, I and then also have family members who have dealt with mental health issues themselves.
[00:26:38] Ariana: So I understand the nuance of having mental health issues. But then I also know what it looks like to advocate,
[00:26:46] Christi: Have those relatives who are psychiatrists also influenced your decisions in terms of like you chose social services right. You, you didn't choose. Psychiatry or even psychology.
[00:27:00] Ariana: Well, you know what? I have a degree in communications. My BA is in communications, believe it or not. But
[00:27:08] Christi: I believe it.
[00:27:11] Ariana: but my, my first class that I took, one of my first classes I took as a freshman in college was a was a psychology class and I did well and I was like, well, maybe I can, I can do this, but then I let it go. But, you know, like in hindsight, I wish I would've got a degree in psychology cause I think I would've been good at it. But I ended up going into social work because I had aspirations to be an attorney. And I was working for the Cuyahoga County domestic relations court here in Cleveland. And ever, ever so often I would ask to cover the family mediation department, like just if they had, you know, somebody, a staff member was sick that day, they would ask me, can I cover for a couple of hours and I would. And so I would notice that in the family mediation department These mediators would help families come to an understanding of how they should interact with each other. You know, with their children post or, you know, during their transition of divorce so that they can be the best parents. And so that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to go into family law. And so when I noticed these family mediators helping these family parents and these children, I was thinking to myself, Oh, that's what I want to do.
[00:28:21] Ariana: And then I found out the mediators were social workers. So I said, Hmm, you know, maybe that's something that I should look into, but I didn't know that you, because I have a BA in communications, I didn't know that I could get my master's in social work. And one day I mustered up the courage to ask the executive director of the family mediation department, you know, am I able to get a master's in social work?
[00:28:45] Ariana: And she said, yeah, of course, you know, there are a lot of people who get BAs, you know, bachelors in one thing and a master's in social work. That's totally fine. So that's when I, you know, applied to graduate school and in the social work program, and I've been Working toward it ever since.
[00:28:59] Christi: you mentioned a number of organizations that you've worked with in Cleveland. Are you officially a mentor to anyone or do you, and the corollary to that is do you have a mentor?
[00:29:10] Ariana: you know what is funny? I had a mentor before she worked for the city of Cleveland and her and I still remain in touch with each other But now I have another mentor That I'm going to meet this week, upcoming week, and she's the director of the Department of Aging And for the city of Cleveland, I haven't met her yet.
[00:29:33] Ariana: I was paired with her through a program that I am. I'm in with Cleveland State University and so she's a social worker and I'm excited, you know, because I'm always looking for someone to help me transition into what I want to go into because I don't think you're ever too young or too old to have a mentor or to be mentored. You know what I mean? I think that if you're able to receive wisdom from someone, you should receive it and be open to it. I don't care how far along you are in your career or, you know, how much money you make or how much success you've been able to acquire. You know, we all need someone that could, first of all, that you could just talk to. And be vulnerable with, and then secondly, somebody who can impart, you know, wisdom and good advice in you in from any area, your personal, professional, academic, you know, whatever.
[00:30:27] Christi: Well, you seem pretty wise. I wonder seems like you'd have a lot to offer people. I mean, have you thought about like a Tik Tok channel or
[00:30:36] Ariana: You know what? I do have Tik TOK, unfortunately it'll be too late. Cause apparently Tik TOK is going to be just, it's going to end in the United States in 2025, which is like, Oh my God. God, really? But I do have a TikTok, but it's, I'm not active on TikTok. I wish I was, especially now that we're not going to have it any longer in 2025, I wish I would have been able to use that platform,
[00:31:02] Christi: Well, there's always YouTube, right?
[00:31:04] Ariana: Yeah, that that is very
[00:31:05] Christi: Yeah. But you're so articulate. It's like, wow. seems like younger women would really Not just younger women, but you know, people that are interested in putting themselves out there and advocating and following their own paths. It's like you clearly realize what a twisty road it can be.
[00:31:25] Ariana: Yeah, my mother tells me all the time and that's I think that's where I get my wisdom from just being around my mom and my My parents and she always says that you know, Ari, that's my name. Life is not a You know, it's not cookie cutter, you know, you have to go through things in order to receive what God has for you.
[00:31:43] Ariana: You know I go by the old saying that you make plans and then God laughs because sometimes that's not what he wants for you. Sometimes you just have to go along with it, you know, and, and just receive what. What he's trying to give you and internalize it and keep moving and then just know that Everything that you're going through good better or indifferent.
[00:32:06] Ariana: it's not for naught And that you'll you're going to end up where you're supposed to be
[00:32:11] Christi: You have sat on some panels and you spoke on a UN affiliated platform about hair discrimination. So talk to me about your advocacy with hair issues. And you mentioned it before, but this is a little bit different. This is taking it to another level.
[00:32:30] Ariana: Yes. So, you know, unfortunately black women in particular, and I'm just saying black women because I am a black woman, but I think that a lot of women deal with share the commonality of experiencing hair discrimination, especially in the workplace. You know, we are always stereotyped by our hairstyle or, you know, you come in and, I know that for black women. In different spaces, we were told, well, you need to wear your hair like this in order to be taken seriously. You need to wear your hair like that in order for it to be deemed as professional. And I just don't think that it's right. I should wear my hair any way I see fit. And people will take me seriously. even I tell people all the time, like it is so visceral. Hair discrimination, excuse me, is so visceral that Congress had to write a piece of legislation to protect people from hair discrimination in the work and school place, and it's still not working in some states, like Texas. I was reading a story about a young man who was wearing locks, and he was kicked out of his private Christian school because he wouldn't cut his locks. Because it was against school policy. And I was, you know, it's just really, really sad that, that people are still work, you know, focusing on things, you know, such as hair and I just feel like my hair, I don't care how I style it, it's yes, it's a form of creative expression, but it does not quantify It does not correlate to what I bring to the table. I've gone through every phase of I wore a bob. When I was in college, I actually ran into somebody who remembered me from college. She was like, Oh, I remember is your hair and your big mouth, your big mouth and your big hair. It was like, cause I used to wear my Afro and And so, you know, If I wear an Afro, it doesn't take away from my intelligence. It doesn't take away from my hard work ethic. And now that I'm in the pageantry space, you know, it definitely counts. Specifically, as I said, you know, earlier, me, you know, competing in maybe white pageantry systems. I made a conscientious decision to wear my hair natural and, but it was straightened, but it was natural because I wanted to show the beauty and the healthy state of black hair. But yeah, hair discrimination is definitely something that is. Very visceral in the black community and it could be demoralizing. you know, I heard so many young black girls who just hate their hair because it's not long and it's not flowing and it's not, you know, it doesn't look like, the little girl down the street hair.
[00:35:03] Ariana: It doesn't look like some of these, young ladies that are on TV hair and they don't have the education as well that, you know, your hair is, is long and thick and it's healthy. And it really is. It's heartbreaking. You know that hair, it plays a pivotal role in the black community, but it can also be something that can be very demoralizing and it could play a role in somebody's self esteem.
[00:35:26] Ariana: If they're if their hair isn't celebrated. And that's why, you know, I, I try so hard to wear my hair in different phases. I wear braids. Sometimes I wear my hair straightened. Sometimes I wear my hair and it's natural state and afro sometimes because I really do want to. exude the message that, black hair is beautiful in every phase. You don't have to have it a specific way in order for it to be deemed as beautiful or as professional. You can wear your hair in any way and you can still be celebrated and you can be still deemed as professional and smart and beautiful.
[00:36:00] Ariana: Especially, I, I definitely want to evoke that message Because when I tell you it, it's definitely, it's so sad sometimes how these young girls, they want to wear wigs and weaves, not knowing that they have this beautiful long hair and all they need is someone to explain to them. their hair is thick, but it's also beautiful and healthy and versatile. And I'm very passionate as it pertains to that subject.
[00:36:26] Christi: Do you get a lot of little kids in your audience or is it as part of being an ambassador that you go and meet kids in schools and like that?
[00:36:35] Ariana: Well, I'll go to, like I said, I work with an organization called Queen I Am. And the organization, it really consists of little, you know, young black and brown ladies between like maybe eight until like 12. 14 or 15, and I've had conversations with them about being in the pageantry space. they see me, they see that I'm just, I'm just like them, and that my hair is just like them.
[00:37:01] Ariana: And sometimes I don't come in, you know, with the pageantry dress. I'll wear, jeans and sneakers so that they can see I'm just like you and you can be in my position as well. You don't have to be from a specific place or your hair has to be a specific way or your skin color has to be a specific way in order to navigate through the pageantry space.
[00:37:23] Ariana: You can be yourself because God created you to be beautiful, which is what, you know, each and every one of those young ladies are.
[00:37:30] Christi: It seems to me as hair is something that we can control,
[00:37:34] Ariana: Yeah. Yeah,
[00:37:36] Christi: control your skin color. We were not going to talk about bleaching. But, mean, really hair is something, if you're 8 years old, or 18, or 28, or 58, you can control it. Right?
[00:37:49] Ariana: you can. I mean, like, I shouldn't have to, if I want to wear braids, I should be able to wear braids. I, if I want to wear, you know, my hair straight and I should be wearing my way, my hair straight. If I want to wear a weave, I should be able to wear a weave. I don't know.
[00:38:03] Ariana: I'm going to paraphrase this quote, but someone said it was a black woman. I believe she, It might've been Melissa Harris Perry. She said, I can't believe how controversial it is the way my hair grows out of my scalp. This is just the way that my hair grows out of my scalp. Like I can't, you know, I don't understand what's the problem. there's so much, curated. information about black hair that I don't understand why like companies and schools and organizations are so in the dark about it. It's, it's not that hard to ascertain.
[00:38:36] Ariana: It really isn't. I promise you it isn't, but it's definitely, like I said, it's hair discrimination. Specifically in the black community. And I, like I said, I think all women share the commonality of, us being demoralized or demeaned because of the way we show up in the workplace. It can definitely be demoralizing to women, especially for what we bring to the workplace. our hard work ethic, our ideas. our dedication, our intentionality, we bring so much to the workplace as it is. The last thing that anybody should be thinking about is the way that we wear our hair.
[00:39:13] Christi: Especially in the workplace. But they do, they do, they
[00:39:18] Ariana: they do, they do. And it's like policies, like how do you feel comfortable as an HR person telling me how I should wear my hair? When I helped to raise this amount of money within this quarter. It just doesn't make any sense.
[00:39:33] Christi: are you still working with is it the Famicos Foundation? I don't know.
[00:39:37] Ariana: Yes, I'm still the communications manager.
[00:39:40] Christi: That's great. Am I pronouncing it
[00:39:42] Ariana: Yes, you are. You are.
[00:39:43] Christi: And what do they do?
[00:39:44] Ariana: It is a community development corporation here in Cleveland, and we provide housing and social services to the communities of St. Clair, Huff, and some parts of Superior, and Glenville. I really enjoy working there because it's like a full circle project for me. Glenville is the area that my grandmother reared my mom and my auntie. My mom graduated from Glenville High School, that's the same high school Steve Harvey graduated from, by the way. And, and I have a lot of family in that area. And so to work in that area and to help to provide services to that area where my family, you know, came from, my great grandparents moved from Jacksonville, Florida to the Glenville area. And for me to work there to still help to create. that area into, you know, a better place for families and children is definitely like a full circle moment for me.
[00:40:41] Christi: so, you still want to work in the family court system?
[00:40:45] Ariana: I do I have two options. I would love to work in the family court system or I've been told that I would be a good therapist. So maybe I'll open up my own practice. And I think that that probably would work for me. Because I'll be able to schedule my own hours and my own clientele and, just have my own office space.
[00:41:05] Ariana: And maybe I'll get another therapist and we could like office together and make our own policies and things of that sort. So I'm looking at that as well.
[00:41:16] Christi: I suspect that you have more aspirations. another pageant,
[00:41:21] Ariana: Oh yes, I'm going to be crowned again as Ms. Black Ohio USA for 2025 2026. I am trying, lord knows, I am trying to transition into the world of modeling.
[00:41:35] Christi: Addition to social work.
[00:41:36] Christi: That's
[00:41:37] Ariana: but you know what? I was inspired to do this by because I've been modeling for a bit Over the past year and a half doing runway shows, but I really want to be a print model That's my ultimate goal and I would love to work for major fashion houses. But I was really inspired by a docuseries that I watched on YouTube called Supreme Models and it chronicled all of the major black supermodels and even models today. And what a model is now is totally different from what it was like in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Like models are now advocates, they use their space to bring forth change and, and issues in the modeling industry that has to do with diversity, equity, and inclusion. There was one model in the docuseries. She did a TED Talk, which I thought was pretty cool. You know, me being a social worker and in the pageantry space, I think that it would be a nice transition to go into the modeling world, but I'm just hoping that maybe I'll have time to do it.
[00:42:40] Ariana: If not, then it's going to be a dream deferred, I guess.
[00:42:44] Christi: Would you move to New York?
[00:42:48] Ariana: If I had to? I don't know. I probably would. I mean, I do have family in New York City, so it's not like I would be there by myself. I wouldn't mind, you know, moving to New York City.
[00:42:59] Christi: It's a great city.
[00:43:00] Ariana: Yeah, I've been there
[00:43:01] Ariana: before. I've been there before, and I, and I love the fast pace of New York City. I remember the, the last time I was there, I was with my cousin Rudy, and he, he was, we, we were, my mama, aunt, and I were in his truck, and he was driving us to some soul food restaurant, and the way he was driving, it was just like, I didn't know if I was gonna make it out that car alive.
[00:43:23] Ariana: I was like, is this how He
[00:43:28] Christi: Where were you? Did he take you up to Harlem? Did he
[00:43:31] Christi: take you up to Sylvia's?
[00:43:32] Ariana: think he took me to, I don't know if it was Sylvia's. It was like, I don't remember. It was a soul food restaurant. It was like a buffet style soul food restaurant. But when I tell you, he put the pedal to the metal to get there. It was so scary. I didn't know I would ever, I didn't know if I was going to make it out alive.
[00:43:48] Ariana: I was just like, please. And I was trying to put on my seatbelt. But before I was able to buckle, it was like, he just hit the gas. And I was like, Just like, okay, here we go.
[00:43:57] Christi: well, if it's any consolation, most people take the subway in New York, you don't to worry about it.
[00:44:04] Ariana: Miami is is starting to become a place for fashion models as well. I wouldn't mind, living in Miami or at least frequenting Miami. There's a, um. fashion Agency that I would love to be signed to Dorothy Comer's models They represent plus size modeling agencies and I am a plus size woman So I would love to be represented by them.
[00:44:25] Ariana: So I periodically send in my submissions Hopefully hoping that one day somebody would you know will look over them But you know I've been in talks with you know, a couple of agencies here in Ohio And you know, I'm just waiting for the right one
[00:44:41] Christi: One more question. What do you want listeners to know about you? Being Ms. Black, Ohio.
[00:44:50] Ariana: Want them to know that i'm very serious about my platform That I am very intentional about what I do and how I represent Miss Black Ohio, and that I'm a proud Ohioan, and that Ohio, though we have our issues, we are still very much a proud state of people, of hardworking people, of kind people, of people that consist of community. Of faith of determination and that we stick together and I'm proud to represent my state in the Miss Black USA pageant. I'm proud to talk about my platform as far as maternal health in the black community. And that I'm just here to help out in any way that I can that will uplift the state of Ohio, specifically my part, my neck of the woods Cleveland, Ohio.
[00:45:44] Christi: that's beautiful.
[00:45:46] Christi: Thank
[00:45:46] Ariana: you.