Deneen Zezell Graham-Kerns

Year Inducted: 2018

Deneen Zezell Graham-Kerns is the daughter of Dr. Bob and Jean Graham of Charlotte, formerly of North Wilkesboro. Both were educators in the Wilkes County School system.

As a student at Wilkesboro Elementary, Graham-Kerns began her dance training with Margie Canipe of the Canipe School of Dance. Her education continued at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she graduated from both high school and college, obtaining a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance.

Graham-Kerns became the first African American to be crowned Miss North Carolina on June 25, 1983. Two weeks after she became Miss North Carolina, a “Deneen Graham Day” was held in North Wilkesboro. The day included a parade, jazz band, key to the city and speeches by mayors, town, and county commissioners. As the first Wilkes County resident to be crowned Miss North Carolina, she went on to represent the state at the 1983 Miss America Pageant. Later that year, she was chosen as Grand Marshal for the annual Wilkes Christmas parade.

During her year as Miss North Carolina, Graham-Kerns made hundreds of appearances performing and speaking throughout the state. Her historical accomplishment was announced by former U.S. Congressman Steve Neal and recorded in the U.S. Congressional Record. She spoke at the North Carolina General Assembly, and her achievement was recorded in the North Carolina eighth grade history book. Graham-Kerns was chosen as spokesperson for the 1984 North Carolina Summer Reading program, and in New York City, received an honorary award from the National Council of Negro Women from former president, Dorothy I. Height.

Graham-Kerns was invited to perform for and choreograph three Department of Defense Entertainment Tours, which traveled to the Mediterranean, Far East, Hawaii, and Alaska, based on her talent presentation during the Miss America pageant. She has appeared in Atlanta’s Theatre of the Stars musical theatre productions of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” “South Pacific,” “Hello Dolly,” “Music Man,” and “Will Rogers Follies.”

For seven years, she choreographed and performed with the Miss Georgia Pageant. As a member of the Atlanta Hawks Dance Team, she was an assistant choreographer and an emcee for Harry the Hawk’s “I Like Me Because I’m Drug Free” and “Fast Break” reading programs, which traveled to hundreds of elementary schools in the Atlanta area.

For the past 21 years Graham-Kerns has continued to share her knowledge and passion for dance as a dance-teaching artist and is a certified member of Dance Masters of America. Many of her students have received the highest awards in both regional and national competitions, been accepted into some of the nation’s top college dance programs, and are now working professionals in the dance and entertainment industries.

To this date, Graham-Kerns remains the only African American to hold the Miss North Carolina title. Graham-Kerns currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband, Gregory, and their daughter, Lola.