“The new Miss America is Nia Franklin.

“Representing New York, Franklin was crowned the 92nd Miss America at Sunday’s event in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“Miss Connecticut, Bridget Oei, was named first runner-up.

“”It took a lot of perseverance to get here,” Franklin said after her win. “I want to thank my beautiful family, my mom and my dad, who is a survivor of cancer.”

“The new Miss America is Nia Franklin.

“An opera singer, Franklin is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina and earned her master’s degree in music composition from UNC School of the Arts. She moved to New York after being accepted at the Kenan Fellow program at Lincoln Center Education in Manhattan.

“During the competition, Franklin, who is black, described how music helped her find her identity.”

Read more at CNN