Cierra Denae Jackson was crowned as the 2016 Miss District of Columbia (Miss America Organization), in Washington, D.C., on June 19 at the Howard Theatre. She is the granddaughter of Americus residents Lawrence and Bertha Hosley. She is the daughter of 1983 Americus High School graduate Gregory Jackson and Dr. Cheryl Freeman-Jackson of Columbus, Ga. She will go on to compete for the title of Miss America on Sept. 11 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.