Oak Grove Middle School has a titleholder in its halls. Wynter Frost, an 8th-grader, placed first in the 10-13 age division at the Miss Juneteenth Minnesota pageant this summer. She'll hold the Miss Juneteenth Minnesota title through June 2027.
"Winning this title means so much. To be carrying this legacy is truly amazing," Frost said. She added that going to events and meeting people around the community over the past few months has meant a lot to her.
The crown didn't stop with her. At the same pageant, her older brother Jorden Redding, a Kennedy High School alum, became the program's first Mr. Juneteenth Minnesota. Outside of pageant season, Frost runs track, does theater and names language arts as her favorite subject.
Organizers describe Miss Juneteenth Minnesota as a Black-led youth leadership program. It uses mentorship, education, cultural preservation and community service to build confident young leaders across the state. That means more than the crown: according to organizers, contestants go through workshops on financial literacy, mental health and the social challenges that come with being different.
The 2026 pageant was the program's 3rd annual state competition. It was held Saturday, June 6, at North Central University's Trask Worship Center in Minneapolis, under the theme "Rediscovering Our Culture and Redefining Our Freedom." Organizers added categories for men this year for the first time and expanded the age divisions for women. Redding's Mr. Juneteenth title covers ages 18-24. A separate Mister Juneteenth title, for ages 10-17, went to Isaac Abatan.
Titleholders get invited to community events throughout the year, starting with a block party in north Minneapolis that welcomed the new court. So if you see a young Bloomington royal at a festival or community gathering this year, now you know why.
