Former Miss Navajo Rides Rough Road to Grammys
Navajo singer Radmilla Cody has been nominated for her first Grammy. She will likely turn heads at the ceremony Feb. 10 in Los Angeles in her traditional Navajo dress and moccasins. But the former Miss Navajo has never been afraid to stand out in a crowd.
Cody’s grandmother raised her on the Navajo Nation amidst the rust-colored plateaus and sagebrush.
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Growing up half African-American on the reservation, even her relatives called her names.
“My uncles were not too fond of having a biracial child in the family,” Cody said. “They would make it known that was how they felt by basically belittling me, demeaning me.”
Years later when she ran for Miss Navajo Nation some tribal members protested because of her dark skin. Because of her own struggles with racism, Cody is working with educators to replace a derogatory Navajo word for African-American people with a more respectful one.
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Cody also works to empower victims of domestic violence. A survivor of an abusive relationship herself, she speaks out about reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act.
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Read the whole thing, see more photos, and listen to her beautiful voice at this link: Former Miss Navajo Rides Rough Road to Grammys
Radmilla Cody has her own website as well, here.