Miss America Pageant contestants, from left, Miss Delaware Brittany Lewis, left, Miss Kansas Amanda Sasek, Miss Maryland Jade Kenny and Miss Mississippi Jasmine Murray, applaud as Miss Nebraska Megan Swanson, second right, hugs Miss New Jersey Cierra Kaler-Jones during arrival ceremonies Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014, in Atlantic City, N.J. Miss America contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will appear to the public Wednesday afternoon at the traditional welcoming ceremony across from Boardwalk Hall. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP)—Raeanna Johnson and the rest of her family didn’t know her 18-year-old brother Tyler was addicted to methamphetamine until after he committed suicide and his toxicology report came back.
“We had no idea,” said Johnson, 24, who’s representing Wisconsin in this year’s Miss America pageant.
She’s one of several contestants whose family tragedies have determined the public-service platform they chose for the competition. Hers is named after her brother: “Tyler’s Legacy: The Impact of Substance Abuse on The Family.”
She’s not alone. Miss Kansas Amanda Sasek’s father committed suicide when she was 17. Miss Delaware Brittany Lewis is still waiting for an arrest in her sister’s slaying.
The platforms outline a social or public-service cause that the contestants plan to pursue or publicize. In this Sept. 3, 2014 photo, Miss Delaware Brittany Lewis walks during Miss America Pageant arrival ceremonies in Atlantic City, N.J. Representing Delaware in the Miss America pageant, Lewis is one of several contestants whose real-life family tragedies have determined the public service platform they choose for the competition. Lewis has been grieving the death of her sister, Gina Nicole Clarke-Lewis, who was shot to death in her New Jersey apartment in 2010 in a case that remains unsolved. Her pageant platform is domestic violence prevention. She said her sister had been in an abusive relationship for five years before her death. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
