| Winner: | Judith Ford |
| Represented: | Illinois |
| Date: | September 7, 1968 |
| Presenters: | Bert Parks |
| Venue: | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Entrants: | 53 |
| Broadcaster: | NBC |
| Before: | 1968 |
| Next: | 1970 |
Miss America 1969, the 42nd Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 7, 1968[1] on NBC Network. Miss Illinois was the winner, Judith Ford performing on a trampoline during the talent competition of the pageant. She later became a physical education teacher at an elementary school.
The event was the site of a protest held on the boardwalk sponsored by feminists. They threw feminine products, like bras, pots, false eyelashes, mops, and other items into a "Freedom trash can". The event was reported under the headline "Bra Burners and Miss America," which conflated the idea of the protest with men who burned their draft cards.
| Placement | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Miss America 1969 | ||
| 1st Runner-Up |
| |
| 2nd Runner-Up |
| |
| 3rd Runner-Up |
| |
| 4th Runner-Up |
| |
| Top 10 |
|
| Awards | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifestyle and Fitness |
| |
| Talent |
|
| Awards | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Miss Congeniality |
| |
| Non-finalist Talent |
|
See main article: Miss America protest. A protest held outside Boardwalk Hall was attended by about 200 feminists. The protest, nicknamed No More Miss America!, was organized by New York Radical Women, included tossing feminine products, bras, pots, false eyelashes, mops, and other items into a "Freedom trash can" on the Atlantic City boardwalk.[2] [3]
A story by Lindsy Van Gelder in the New York Post carried the headline "Bra Burners and Miss America." Her story drew an analogy between the feminist protest and Vietnam War protesters who burned their draft cards.[4] The bra-burning trope was erroneously and permanently attached to the event and became a catch-phrase of the feminist era.
A lesser known protest was also organized on the same day by civil rights activist J. Morriss Anderson. It was held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel a few blocks from the Miss America pageant. They crowned the first Miss Black America.
| Alabama | Dellynne Catching | Birmingham | 19 | Piano Medley, "Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum", "America the Beautiful", & "This is My Country" | Top 10 | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | ||
| Alaska | Jane Haycraft | Fairbanks | 18 | Popular Vocal, "Walking Happy" | ||||
| Arizona | Linda Johnson | Warren | 20 | Authentic Tahitian Dance | Previously Arizona's Junior Miss 1966 | |||
| Arkansas | Helen Gennings | Batesville | 20 | Popular Vocal, "What the World Needs Now is Love" & "Love Makes the World Go Round" | ||||
| California | Sharon Terrill | Torrance | 21 | Dramatic Reading, "Little Word, Little White Bird" by Carl Sandburg | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Colorado | Pamela Kerker | Sterling | 21 | Ballet/Jazz Dance, "By Myself" & "Babalu" | ||||
| Connecticut | Gunnell Ragone | West Hartford | 21 | Popular Vocal & Monologue, "Guantanamera" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Delaware | Gayle Freeman | Wilmington | 19 | Vocal & Guitar, "Times They Are a-Changin'" | ||||
| Florida | Linda Fitts | Panama City | 20 | Charleston Dance, "Twelfth Street Rag" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| Georgia | Burma Davis | Warner Robbins | 20 | Vocal, "This is My Country" | ||||
| Hawaii | Deborah Ynez Gima | Kailua | 18 | Hawaiian Song, "Wonderful World of Aloha" & "Kaneha" | ||||
| Idaho | Karen Ryder | Weiser | 20 | Magic Act, "The Shadow of Your Smile" & "Born Free" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Illinois | Judith Ford | Belvidere | 18 | Acrobatic Dance & Trampoline, "The Blue Danube" | Winner | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| Indiana | Kit Field | Indianapolis | 21 | Vocal, "Why was I Born?" | 4th runner-up | Featured performer at Miss America 1970 | ||
| Iowa | Susan Thompson | Des Moines | 21 | Piano, Warsaw Concerto | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | ||
| Kansas | Jane Kathryn Bair | Parsons | 18 | Ballet Interpretation, "My Friend the Sea" | ||||
| Kentucky | Janet Hatfield | Jeffersontown | 18 | Vocal, "I'm Glad There is You" | ||||
| Louisiana | Susanne Saunders | Shreveport | 18 | Popular Vocal, "I Can See It" | ||||
| Maine | Brenda Renee Verceles | Bangor | 19 | Tap Dance, "Step to the Rear" from How Now, Dow Jones | ||||
| Maryland | Karen Anne Hansen | College Park | 20 | Vocal, "Just You Wait" from My Fair Lady | ||||
| Massachusetts | Catherine Monroe | Lynnfield | 20 | Sign Language & Dance, "What the World Needs Now is Love" | 1st runner-up | |||
| Michigan | Darlene Kurant | Muskegon | 19 | Vocal, "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" | ||||
| Minnesota | Mary Williams | Minneapolis | 20 | Tap Dance, "Wall Street Rag" by Scott Joplin | ||||
| Mississippi | Mary Mills | McComb | 19 | Piano Comedy Presentation, "Habanera" & "Le Poupée Valsante" by Fritz Kreisler | ||||
| Missouri | Kathleen Goff | De Soto | 21 | Vocal, "I'm Gonna Live 'til I Die" | ||||
| Montana | Karen Frank | Park City | 21 | Western Vocal & Guitar, "I Want to be a Cowboy's Sweetheart" | ||||
| Nebraska | Diane Boldt | Omaha | 19 | Character Dance | ||||
| Nevada | Sharon Davis | Reno | 19 | Classical Vocal, "Quando m'en vò" from La bohème | ||||
| New Hampshire | Michelle Godfrey | Portsmouth | 18 | Modern Interpretive Dance, "Tabu" | ||||
| New Jersey | Jeannette Phillipuk | Laurel Springs | 20 | Vocal Medley, "The Sweetest Sounds" & "Nobody Told Me" from No Strings | ||||
| New Mexico | Karen Jan Maciolek | Albuquerque | 19 | Waltz Ballet, "Wunderbar" | Miss Congeniality | |||
| New York | Patricia Burmeister | Portville | 24 | Classical Vocal, "L'Air des clochettes" from Lakmé | Top 10 | |||
| North Carolina | Elisa Annette Johnson | New Bern | 19 | Vocal, "As Long as He Needs Me" from Oliver! | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| North Dakota | Virginia Hanson | Bismarck | 21 | Semi-classical Vocal, "This is My Country" | ||||
| Ohio | Leslyn Hiple | Louisville | 19 | Vocal Medley, "If My Friends Could See Me Now" & "I'm a Brass Band" from Sweet Charity | ||||
| Oklahoma | Beverly Drew | Harrah | 22 | Vocal, "Step to the Rear" | ||||
| Oregon | Marjean Kay Langley | Milton-Freewater | 19 | Classical Ballet, "The Dying Swan" | 3rd runner-up | |||
| Pennsylvania | Susan Robinson | Pittsburgh | 22 | Comedy Monologue, "Sis Hopkins" | ||||
| Rhode Island | Arlene Pinto | Warwick | 21 | Vocal/Dance, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" | ||||
| South Carolina | Rebecca Smith | Clover | 19 | Semi-classical Vocal, "America the Beautiful" | ||||
| South Dakota | Ann McKay | Vermillion | 21 | Dramatic Monologue from This Property is Condemned | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Tennessee | Brenda Seal | Kingsport | 19 | Popular Vocal, "What Now My Love" | Top 10 | Contestant at National Sweetheart 1967 | ||
| Texas | Diane Hugghins | Tyler | 20 | Jazz Dance, "Put on a Happy Face" from Bye Bye Birdie | ||||
| Utah | Kathleen Frances Wood | Salt Lake City | 19 | Monologue, "The Promise of One Person on This Planet" | ||||
| Vermont | Elizabeth Sackler | Putney | 20 | Modern Dance Interpretation to Self Recorded Reading of "The Last Flower" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| Virginia | Cherie Davis | Clifton Forge | 20 | Classical Vocal, "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| Washington | Joyce Stepanek | Issaquah | 20 | Comedy Routine, "The Adventures of Huck Finn" | ||||
| West Virginia | Charlotte Warwick | Charleston | 22 | Semi-classical Vocal, "The Impossible Dream" | ||||
| Wisconsin | Marilyn Brahmsteadt | Wisconsin Rapids | 21 | Vocal, "What a Difference a Day Made" | ||||
| Wyoming | Carol Rose | Burns | 20 | Clarinet Medley, "Clarinet Concerto" by Mozart, "Strangers on the Shore", & "Ji-da" | Non-finalist Talent Award |