Miss Black WV Heaven Smith Is Growing a Movement Rooted in Justice, Youth Power, and the Future of Black Appalachia Agriculture

By Black By God — The West Virginian

West Virginia’s new Miss Black West Virginia, Heaven Smith, is not stepping into her crown for glamour — she’s stepping into it for purpose. A Human Nutrition and Food major with a minor in Horticulture at West Virginia University, Heaven is using her statewide platform to speak boldly about agriculture, food justice, and the power of young people to transform their communities.

In her reel, Heaven introduces herself simply and powerfully:

“I’m Heaven Smith, Miss Black West Virginia — and I’m using my crown to plant seeds. Agriculture is power, it’s our history, and it’s our future. I’m here to help our youth grow something great.”

Those three lines capture exactly who she is and what she intends to do.

Heaven didn’t learn this work from books. She learned it on Charleston’s West Side, following the example of her mother, Dr. Shanequa Smith, a respected advocate who has spent years teaching families how fresh food can build connection, dignity, and community health. Heaven grew up surrounded by gardens, workshops, and grassroots leadership — and that foundation is now blooming into her statewide platform.

Her advocacy is not symbolic. She’s pushing to close the “college SNAP gap,” calling attention to rising food costs, low wages, and the lack of resources for students trying to stay fed while earning their degrees. She uplifts initiatives like WV Foodlink, which helps West Virginians locate grocery stores and identify which ones accept SNAP, promoting the belief that everyone deserves access to safe, nutritious food with dignity.

This year, she carried that message far beyond West Virginia’s borders — speaking at the Bread for the World Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C. and participating in the Black Farmers and Gardeners Conference in Detroit. In both spaces, Heaven represented the heart of Black rural Appalachia, joining national conversations where West Virginia voices — especially Black voices — are almost never heard.

Her crown itself carries a deeper story. For nearly a century, the Miss West Virginia Pageant allowed only women “of the white race” to compete. Not until 2017 did the state crown its first African American winner. Miss Black West Virginia emerged from this exclusion, creating a space where Black women could be celebrated, uplifted, and heard. Heaven stands in that legacy with intention, proving that beauty and leadership are not mutually exclusive — they are powerful together.

But the kind of work Heaven wants to do — youth agriculture workshops, travel to national advocacy conferences, community garden days, statewide speaking engagements — requires resources. It requires travel support, materials, tools, uniforms, and the ability to show up fully prepared in every space where she is called to represent West Virginia.

That is why community support is not optional — it is essential.

When people donate to Heaven’s campaign, they are not funding pageantry. They are investing in a young Black woman planting a movement rooted in justice, food access, land education, and youth empowerment in one of America’s most overlooked regions. They are helping her take Black Appalachian stories and solutions into national spaces where they are desperately needed.

Anyone who wants to support, collaborate, or donate to her campaign can contact Heaven directly at: hs0075@mix.wvu.edu. To donate directly:

Miss Black WV Heaven Smith is not asking people to believe in her crown.

She is asking them to believe in the seeds she is planting — and the future she is growing for Black Appalachia.