Scandal at Spelman? The Co-Queen Decision Sparking Uproar Among Alumnae And Students

Spelman, thy name we praise.

The mere mention of Spelman College commands attention. Founded in 1881, the Georgia liberal arts college is universally recognized as the premiere institution of higher learning for women of African descent. A member of the Atlanta University Center Consortium, Spelman has been recognized by U.S. News College Rankings as the #1 HBCU in the nation for 19 consecutive years.

The school is highly selective with an acceptance rate of approximately 25% for recent incoming classes. Notable Spelman College alumnae include trailblazers in every field imaginable from education and finance to media and STEM. Household names like lawyer and political activist Stacey Abrams to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker call Spelman their alma mater.

Normally, the 2,100-student body college makes headline news for their distinguished alum and even present students crushing an amazing accomplishment. But over the last few days, the historically Black college has been questioned by many (and getting dragged by some) for a controversary involving the annual Miss Spelman pageant. For the first time in history, two queens were crowned in the annual affair. But why?

Juniors Jillian Collier and Kinsley Wilson will share the title of Co-Miss Spelman for the 2026-27 academic year after a scoring miscalculation. This is the first time in the pageant’s 43-year history that this has occurred. The controversy began after Wilson was declared the sole winner on April 11. Nearly a week later, the school announced a miscount on April 17 in a social media post, declaring Collier as co-queen. The explanation was related to a miscalculation. “Following a comprehensive review of the 2026 Miss Spelman Pageant, the College identified a technical discrepancy in the initial scoring results. In a decision that reflects our commitment to equity and the exceptional caliber of our students, Spelman College has named Co-Miss Spelmans for the 2026-2027 academic year. This move ensures that the hard work and excellence of these scholars are acknowledged and fully celebrated.”

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 Spelman later posted this on their Facebook page sharing the co-queens news. “We are overjoyed to announce we are crowning Co-Miss Spelmans for the 2026-2027 academic year! These two phenomenal scholars embody the grace of our heritage and the undaunted spirit of our future. Throughout the year, these queens will serve side-by-side, representing the Blue & White with excellence and distinction.” The school released yet another statement (comments notably turned off addressing the commentary.)

One commenter left this message on the above Instagram post, “People commenting who don’t understand our sisterhood, keep quiet We are taught to support one another and that we all can be GREAT TOGETHER!!! If you did not attend, you wouldn’t understand. The co-queens are embracing each other with joy and in the spirit of sisterhood.”

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Yet questions about the co-queens were fast and fierce. One student on TikTok posted a passionate video expressing her frustration with the decision. “The slogan “crown not compromise” has become a rallying cry for those demanding fairness in the pageant’s outcome,” Queen Esther Hadassah explained. She also called out the school for “the lack of integrity and ethics” as she explained that while some argued Kinsley Wilson won the popular vote, that category was only worth 20% of the final score and the entire pageant is judged on five distinct categories.

The incident moved some people to loudly question the integrity of Spelman beyond the pageant. One of those people is current student, Gabrielle Cassell. Cassell penned a provocative piece via her Substack, The Pan-African Futurist, titled The Beginning of the End of Spelman College. The timing of it was aligned with the school’s April 11th Founder’s Day and the essay caused a firestorm of feedback on and offline. Cassell didn’t hold back and raised concerns about the school’s investment in A.I., the lack of a Black Studies department and the college’s stance on student protests. She wrote, “Spelman does not want to produce Black feminist scholar-activists but “girlbosses” who become C-Suite executives, amass wealth, and then come back years later to guide Spelman students in the same direction.”  

Ouch.

Of course, not everyone takes this stance. Spelman alum Meera Bowman has fond memories of her days at Spelman, even decades later. “Sitting in Sisters Chapel for convocations, creating art in Giles Hall and serving on the Spelman Student Government Association (SSGA) were regular reminders that Spelman is a place of abundance. Every year since I walked through The Arch, I’ve become more grateful for the blessing of limitless resources and growth opportunities afforded within those gates. It’s unfortunate that the judging process wasn’t more transparent, but hopefully, the 2026 Miss Spelmans will make lemonade — using this experience to collaboratively refine and redefine the role. It’s the perfect opportunity to lead the student body by example and demonstrate what Spelman sisterhood is truly about,” Bowman says. Bowman, who currently holds a DEI leadership position at a Big Ten PWI, jokes that she “went to Spelman in the Freaknik 90s” and ironically was Co-Publicity Chair of the SSGA her senior year and served as her Junior Class President.

In addition, the school just celebrated SpelBound on April 18, and the annual event for newly admitted students and their families was well attended and thoroughly enjoyed by visitors who traveled from far distances like San Francisco for a taste of their life at Spelman beginning this fall.

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Will the unprecedented co-Miss Spelmans continue to be a topic of concern after the social media noise lessens and people move on to the next hot topic? Time will tell. We do know that HBCU students and alum holding their school accountable is not new. Morehouse College grad Spike Lee included such a story line in his 1988 career defining film, School Daze. At the fictional Mission College, students protested to push their school to divest from South Africa because of apartheid. Gabrielle Cassell’s “calling out” Spelman is essentially what the character Dap did in the movie sans the power to go viral on Instagram or TikTok.

A dozen dissertations couldn’t cover all the layers to this. One Spelman alum who choose to remain anonymous shared this perspective, “I think a lot of Spelman alumnae are frustrated because of the high expectations we hold Spelman to. This is not the first rodeo for Spelman College as it pertains to pageantry. There should’ve been a stronger protocol in place for a situation like this. I hope this pushes them to move forward with a solid plan that allows for better accuracy in scoring future pageants.”

Spelman College has another first this year: Seven co-valedictorians! While this speaks more to the academic prowess of Spelman’s Class of 2026 than the concerns that the Miss Spelman pageant has, it does remind us that there is a first time for everything…with everything. Whether the setting is a beloved HBCU (and they are all beloved), a small seven sisters college or a massive state university, an Ivy League school or a local community college, differing points of view will surface between administration, students and alum. For our HBCUs, raising questions that create thought-provoking dialogue surrounding integrity, transparency and yes, evolution can make the colleges, universities, and ultimately our ecosystem, stronger.

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