"Caressa Cameron, a 22-year-old Virginia woman who said she once thought her only talent was singing is the newest Miss America," reports The Winnipeg Free Press. "Cameron, the first black Miss America since Ericka Dunlap in 2005, says she wants to get a master's degree and eventually become a news anchor. During the Miss Virginia pageant last year, Cameron was asked her opinion about gay marriage, the same issue Miss California Carrie Prejean was asked about during the Miss USA pageant two months earlier. Cameron said she believed marriage should be between a man and woman because of her religious beliefs, but she didn't think there should be laws against gay marriage."

It has also been reported that in 2007, Cameron was recognized by the U.S. Congress for her work to bring "instant-result HIV testing" to the state of Virginia. She's been quoted as saying that the AIDS issue is personal due the fact that her uncle died of AIDS.