Tyrenda Williams-Reed, First Black Woman to Win America's Junior Miss, Passes Away

Tyrenda Williams-Reed, who represented Alabama in the America’s Junior Miss competition in 1997 and became the first Black woman to win, has passed away. The Distinguished Young Woman program and other sources confirmed her death.

America’s Junior Miss, a scholarship competition that started in Mobile, Alabama, changed its name to Distinguished Young Women in 2010. The organization shared the news of Williams-Reed’s passing on Wednesday.

In a Facebook post, the organization expressed their sadness, stating, “We are deeply saddened by the untimely passing of Tyrenda Williams-Reed, our national representative for 1997. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family during this difficult time. Tyrenda was more than just a titleholder; she was a symbol of grace, intelligence, and compassion. She touched many lives with her warmth and spirit, leaving a lasting impact. As we remember her remarkable journey, let us celebrate the profound difference Tyrenda made and the legacy she leaves behind. Though her time with us was too short, her memory will continue to inspire and guide us.”

The Distinguished Young Women of Alabama State Committee also shared a tribute on Thursday, noting that Tyrenda’s dedication, passion, and positive spirit made a lasting impression on everyone she met. They said, “As we mourn her passing, we celebrate the legacy she leaves behind — one of commitment, kindness, and excellence. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during this challenging time. She will be greatly missed but never forgotten.”

A funeral home in Florida reported that Williams-Reed passed away on Monday. The exact details of her death are not yet available, and funeral arrangements have not been announced as of early Thursday afternoon.

Tyrenda Williams was a recent graduate of Vestavia Hills High School when she won America’s Junior Miss at the 40th AJM finals in June 1997. During her time at Vestavia Hills, she was involved in several activities, including serving as the secretary of the National Honor Society, being part of the debate team, representing student government, and being crowned homecoming queen. Her father, Tyrone Williams, was a middle school principal, and her mother, Jerona Williams, was a high school teacher. During the competition, Tyrenda performed a ballet routine to George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Her victory was significant for the program, especially since in the early 1990s, three Black members of the Mobile City Council had withheld funding from America’s Junior Miss due to a lack of diversity.

After her win, Tyrenda said she didn’t want to be known as the “Black Junior Miss” but as someone who represented the ideals of the program. She stated, “I feel it’s significant because it may inspire people who see me as a role model. But more important than being a Black American who won this title, I was just myself. And that’s what Junior Miss teaches us, to be our best selves.”

Tyrenda was also the second Alabama contestant to be named America’s Junior Miss, following Stephanie Ashmore in 1983.

Tyrenda earned a bachelor’s degree from Birmingham-Southern College, where she was a member of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, and a master’s degree in journalism and Latin American & Caribbean Studies from New York University. She was recognized as one of the Birmingham Business Journal’s 2016 “Women to Watch” and served as a guest professor of English and American Culture at a college in Hungary in 2001.

She remained involved in pageants and scholarship competitions, serving as a judge for the Miss Alabama competition as recently as 2021.

Tyrenda had a deep connection to Birmingham-Southern College. In a LinkedIn post about the school's closure earlier this year, she shared her sadness. “Fortunately, one of the many things I learned at BSC is that my faith does not require my understanding,” she wrote. “I count it a blessing to know how the Easter story ends and have that same assurance that the divine purpose of BSC has just begun. Soon we will come to know a Church with no walls and now we begin to understand the legacy of BSC as a community and college with no walls. The list is too long of friends, Presidents, professors, lunchroom ladies, mailroom clerks, Alumni office staff that would need to be thanked for how these modern-day disciples changed and saved my life.”

Tyrenda worked in human resources and communications for various organizations, including Cobbs Allen, America’s Thrift Stores, and the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club. In recent years, she also worked as a Realtor in the Birmingham and Naples, Florida, areas. She was active in the Alabama chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

John Laskow, a veteran judge for America’s Junior Miss, shared another tribute to Williams-Reed. “I had the honor of serving on the Judging Panel when she competed in a preliminary for the title of Miss Alabama,” Laskow posted on Facebook. He said that in his 40-plus years as a judge, “Tyrenda had the BEST INTERVIEW that I’ve ever conducted! What an incredible young woman!”