COLUMBUS, Ohio — With a bigger voice and larger platform at her disposal, Ms. Black Ohio USA 2021 is looking to better her community’s health now, and in the future.

When Yiema John started the application process for Ms. Black Ohio USA, she wasn’t sure it would come to fruition.

“When I interviewed and went through the whole process, I was like there was no way I was going to get this,” said John.

But now that she does, she’s using her sash and her new platform to tackle an issue in the Black community — nutrition.

“We tend to be underperforming,” she said.

John is a first-generation American. With her father from Sierra Leone and her mother from Haiti, she said her family always had traditional foods from both cultures.

“So great, hearty home-cooked meals,” said John, “But we never learned the value of nutrition.”

Ms. Black Ohio USA 2021 also shared that she suffered bulimia and exercise bulimia, making learning about nutrition that much more personal for her.

“I just started learning a little bit more about how my nutrition impacts me and my performance,” she said.

Now, with April being Minority Health Month, she’s hoping to do the same for others, launching a campaign — Nourished Minds, Thriving Lives — as a way to educate the Black community about nutrition.

“We need to be thriving at the foundational level,” she said. “Which starts with what are we putting in our bodies — how are we treating ourselves on a day to day basis.”

For more information, visit the Nourished Minds, Thriving Lives website.​

Editor's Note: The story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Sierra Leone and Ms. Black Ohio.