Saturday's inaugural Miss Juneteenth Pageant is similar to most contests of its nature, except in two key areas.
There are five different age divisions. Contestants compete in four different categories. But this competition isn't necessarily about what's on the outside.
"We want to encourage them, inspire them to see beauty from a different person," says Rev. William Pierce.
It also teaches the 23 participants the importance of the Juneteenth holiday.
"Juneteenth is the African American, or the slaves, receiving their independence," says Pierce. "So it's an opportunity for us to reflect on the struggles, the hardship, the pain, that African Americans as slaves went through and what it felt like to be free from that oppression."
The mission for the pageant is "Rediscovering Our Culture and Redefining Our Freedom".
The Juneteenth Pageant was created by Angel Jones. Her daughter was crowned the first Miss Juneteenth Queen in 2022, but she wanted to create a better experience for all the young women involved.
"This pageant is not just a beauty pageant, but it deals with the heart and the mind," explained Rev. Pierce. "It's preparing these young girls for the future, preparing them for their educational future. So they'll become better socially and in our community. Become better career-wise in their community."
So it's not your typical pageant as it focuses on inner beauty and the future.
The pageant takes place Saturday afternoon from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Hamline University in St. Paul.