Being herself and advocating for others — that’s what this year’s Ms. Wheelchair Florida says her title elevates her to do.
Jacksonville’s 29-year-old Shavaughn Barnes took home a sash and crown covered in jewels at last weekend’s pageant.
“It is actually heavy,” she said of the sparkly crown she brought out from her bedroom.
Barnes works as a homeschool teacher and tutor out of her Southside home. She said since winning the title she’s gone to the store in her sash and crown.
“You’d just be surprised how children just come up to you. They want to know, ‘Why do you have a crown?’ ‘Why do you have a princess?” she said. “It gives you an opportunity to share about having a disability and it breaks those barriers down.”
That’s a huge part of the message she spoke about at the pageant during a required speech.
“My platform is to promote disability awareness and also to promote the idea that people with disabilities aren’t really so different,” she said. “We all have different ways of doing this, so maybe I can't do it one way, but I’ll find a way.”
Barnes was born with cerebral palsy and used to get around with a walker but switched primarily to a wheelchair a few years ago. She wasn’t always as confident as she is today.
“Even though I’ve always been really outgoing with my disability there was still some sort of shame that came along with it,” she said.
That’s how she felt over a year ago, before competing in her first Ms. Wheelchair pageant, where she won first runner up. She’s worked on changing her philosophy ever since.
“I used to post pictures [on social media] all the time where it did not look like I was handicapped,” she said
But after returning from last year’s competition, she posted her achievement.
“I posted and I said this is the real me so take it or leave it,” Barnes said.
She said that confidence helped her land the 2018 title. With that title, she hopes to book public speaking engagements and inspire kids who may have disabilities.
In July she’ll head to Michigan to compete for the national title.
Lindsey Kilbride can be reached at lkilbride@wjct.org, 904-358-6359 or on Twitter at @lindskilbride.
