LMAA Alumni Graduate High School, Prepare for College
Little Miss African Scholarship Pageant celebrated 30 years of pageantry and community outreach on Sunday, August 4.
Little Miss African Scholarship Pageant celebrated 30 years of pageantry and community outreach on Sunday, August 4.
Little Miss African American, founded by Lisa Ruffin in 1993, has opened registration for prospective contestants, ages 6 to 12, for their annual scholarship pageant.
The 29th Little Miss African American Scholarship Pageant is accepting applications for the 2023 nationwide registration. Young participants, between the ages of 6 and 12 years old, are invited to apply to participate in the pageant.
For over two decades, Lisa Ruffin has been instilling her unique curriculum of confidence, awareness and pride (CAP) in young African American girls through her Little Miss African American Scholarship Pageant (LMAA). When a lack of funding threatened to end the pageant’s 25 year reign, she received a last minute rescue from the education-focused Gene Hale Family Foundation. Ruffin is a veteran performer and choreographer that has had a fabled career. The first music video she choreographed, “JoAnna,” won an American Music Award. She has choreographed shows on Broadway and in 20 other countries. Her choreography credits include UPN’s “Moesha,”
The Little Miss African American Scholarship Pageant is an educational program. The girls learn to wear their “C.A.P.” which stands for Confidence, Awareness and Pride. Selected participants undertake a cultural enrichment program designed to promote teamwork, self-esteem, and heighten cultural awareness. They take classes in public speaking, science, technology and etiquette and are taught performances by award winning choreographers. The young ladies make new friends and learn about their rich African American history.