The new Miss USA is of Lebanese descent.
I stumbled upon the Miss USA Pageant Sunday night while flipping through channels and while most of it is absolutely ridiculous and seems almost dated and inconsequential to what’s going on in the world, I found Rima Fakih of Miss Michigan totally charming. I was rooting for her as soon as I heard her speak and saw her smile. I assumed while I was watching, that she was Iranian, so you could imagine my delight and surprise when I learned this morning that she is, in fact, Lebanese — with parents who are Catholic AND Muslim. Hehem.
I know she will spend the next year traveling and drawing attention to frivolous things like hair care products and fancy jewelry, but I also hope she will cast a much-needed, positive light on being Arab-American.
Congrats to the young lady!