Williams appeared at the conference flanked by her parents, brother, a personal adviser, professional adviser and two lawyers. It is one thing to face up to a mistake one makes in youth, but it is almost totally devastating to have to share it with the American public and the world at large." Of her reaction to seeing the Penthouse photos, Williams said, "I was enraged and I felt a deep sense of personal embarrassment. "We will move on and we will try to uplift the image of Miss America." Charles, who is also black, will serve for the last two months of Williams' term and will crown the next Miss America in Atlantic City this September. In Atlantic City, pageant officials awarded the title of Miss America 1984 to Suzette Charles, Miss New Jersey, who was the first runner-up. She said she would pursue a career in show business. "However, the potential harm to the pageant and the deep division that a bitter fight may cause has convinced me that I must relinquish my title as Miss America." "I wish I could retain my title as Miss America," Williams, 21, the first black to hold the title, told a crowded news conference here today. Her decision came at the request of pageant officials and on the same day that copies of Penthouse magazine containing sexually explicit nude photographs of her appeared on newsstands. Poised and speaking in a calm, unbroken voice, Vanessa Williams resigned as Miss America today, becoming the first woman in the pageant's 63-year history to give up the title. Susan Schmidt contributed to this report.
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