High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Safiya Songhai, (born in July 25th, 1984 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a Student Emmy award-winning American film director, on-air talent and beauty queen. Songhai is the reigning Miss Black Massachusetts USA, and a former Miss Five Boroughs for the Miss New York Pageant. Songhai was born in Philadelphia to Dwight Lamont Hendricks and Tamara Lee Pierce. Songhai's parents met at the Philadelphia International Film Festival and Market, a Festival which Songhai would later win her first film award. Her mother came from a prominent Philadelphia family and was the co-creator and host for WPVI's show Visions, and later worked at various stations as a camera woman and a news editor for Frontline.