Day Deborah Rica Lipford, now Day Gardner, is a former Miss Atlantic City, (1974) who served as

Miss Delaware The Miss Delaware competition is the pageant that selects the representative of Delaware in the Miss America pageant. The event takes place annually in the month of June and has previously been held in Rehoboth Beach at Convention Hall, in ...

in 1976 and made history by becoming the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

contestant to place as a top ten semi-finalist at the

Miss America 1977 Miss America 1977, the 50th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 11, 1976, on NBC Network. The winner was Miss Minnesota, Dorothy Benham. Before the finals, Benham and second runner up ...

pageant.

Early life

She was raised in the Elwood section of

Mullica Township, New Jersey Mullica Township is a township in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 5,816, a decrease of 331 (−5.4%) from the 2010 census count of 6,147, which in turn refle ...

. Hoagy Lands, a soul singer during the 1960s, was her uncle. Her first cousin is the mother of singer Jaheim. In 1973, she graduated from

Oakcrest High School Oakcrest High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school is part of the Greater Egg Harbor Regional High School District, which includes ...

in Hamilton Township, New Jersey.

Career

She was president and director of Lipford Corporation during which she designed SandCastle Entertainment Complex, a $40 million dinner theater and nightclub facility located in the center of

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

's tourist district. Gardner worked as a media consultant KUAM Broadcasting in Ordot, Guam and upon returning to the U.S. Mainland was an on-air personality and producer with African Broadcasting at the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are the hundreds of sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may also refer to: Buildings * World Trade Center (1973–2001), a building complex that was destroyed during the September 11 at ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She is the former National Director of Black Americans for Life, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, an affiliate of the

National Right to Life Committee The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide. Since the 1980s, NRLC has influenc ...

. In 2017, she was nominated by

Maryland governor The governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

Larry Hogan Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 62nd governor of Maryland from 2015 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party and son of three-term U.S. representative Lawrence Hogan, he served as co-ch ...

to be a consumer member of the Maryland Board of Physicians. In March 2017, she was pressured by the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single ...

over her

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the lega ...

views. The governor's office withdrew the nomination due to criticism from Democrats the Governor received regarding Gardner's pro life stance and how doctors should face the issue. She was also criticized for sharing the debunked conspiracy theory regarding the birthplace of former

President Of The United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. Gardner is the founder and president of The National Black Pro Life Union and associate director of National Pro-Life Center on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...

. She was also the anchor for the 'Daily Life News with Day Gardner' program for NPLR.net online and later host of 'The Day Report' for American Family Radio. In January 2011, Day Gardner received a Doctorate Degree from Faith Evangelical College and Seminary in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

. Gardner's first novel, ''If Not For Grace'' was published in the spring of 2011 and is available in book stores and online.

References

External links

Official website

National Pro-Life Action Center on Capitol Hill
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Dr. Day Living people American anti-abortion activists Miss America 1977 delegates Oakcrest High School alumni People from Mullica Township, New Jersey University of Delaware alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American people Female models from New Jersey African-American female models 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women Miss Delaware winners