Little Miss African American Scholarship Pageant Celebrates Its 32nd Anniversary August 2 At Barnsdall Art Park
(Los Angeles, CA) – Founder Lisa Ruffin is proud to announce the 32nd Annual Little Miss African American Scholarship Pageant. The red carpet event will take place on Sunday, August 2, 2026 @ 4 PM PT, Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027. The red-carpet starts at 3:00 PM. The first Miss Black America, Von Gretchen Shepherd (seated in the front row in the blue tracksuit next to Lisa Ruffin, Founder of LMAA), came to rehearsal to teach the girls how to strut the stage at the pageant. Link to Purchase Tickets www.littlemissafricanamerican.org Producer/Choreographer, NAACP Theater Award Nominee Lisa Ruffin, along with 30 girls and celebrities, will celebrate the 32nd Anniversary of the Little Miss African-American Scholarship Pageant, of educating our future leaders. Each year, the star-studded event increases the confidence of little African-American girls from across the country. Celebrities, Community leaders, and influencers donate their time to serve as judges or hosts. Numerous girls have graduated from college, and one of their former Queens Sari will travel to NYC, as she was chosen to study at the Alvin Ailey summer intensive program. Also, former LMAA contestant Layla Diggs went on to become a professional wrestler with the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Ruffin’s LMAA program hosts field trips for the girls to Debbie Allen’s Chocolate Nutcracker, among other fun learning events. For the past 32 years, dozens of girls between the ages of 6 and 12 years old have participated in this program, hundreds of scholarships have been awarded, and lasting memories have been created for these young Academic and intellectual princesses. While some of them come from strong, supportive families, the majority of them come from underserved, single-family homes. The pageant provides an early introduction to the arts and training in public speaking, while promoting individual creativity and stimulating a heightened cultural understanding. However, as more eager contestants joined, including some great girls from divergent economic backgrounds, they discovered some who had never experienced being a “Princess” or had even owned a dress before, and who were most in need of the LMAA’s core guideline of “Confidence, Awareness, and Pride”. They felt it was their duty to the girls to remain committed and come back this year. Through personal funds combined with the efforts and the help of incredible friends and Angels, they would not let these girls down and now hope to help create some incredible lasting memories for these young ladies. The pageant will award over $10,000 in scholarships and prizes every year. WWW.LITTLEMISSAFRICANAMERICAN.ORG About Lisa RuffinLisa Ruffin is a multi-talented performer and award-winning choreographer. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She attended The Juilliard School in New York City. Lisa has performed and choreographed in over 20 countries. Lisa’s choreography credits include television shows, “Moesha” starring Brandy, and “The Steve Harvey Show”. The NAACP ACT-SO Awards. Lisa has workedWith Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, James Brown, George Clinton, Rodney Cromwell, just to name a few. Lisa returned to her theatrical roots last year and decided to share her creative talents at the University of Southern California in the Musical Theatre Department. Lisa was honored to work on the University of Southern California’s “Spring Awaking” as the Choreographer and Intimacy Coordinator. Lisa started the beginning of this year by choreographing “SEIZE THE KING” at the University of Southern California. Lisa choreographed and received glowing reviews for her choreography for “In the Continuum” at The Ensemble Theatre of Santa Barbara. Lisa returned to The Ensemble Theatre last fall to choreograph the stage play “CARMEN,” for which she was nominated for a NAACP Theater Award. Lisa created and implemented the Little Miss African American Scholarship Pageant, a 501 ( c ) (3) Nonprofit, Tax-Exempt Charitable Organization, which is the longest-running scholarship pageant for young girls in that age group. This educational program is in its 32nd year of operation. Over 200 Little Miss African American Alumni have graduated from colleges like USC, UCLA, and Spelman. If you want to learn more about Lisa, you can go to her website at LisaRuffin.com or www.Instagram.com/officiallisaruffin
Black News 
(Los Angeles, CA) – Founder Lisa Ruffin is proud to announce the 32nd Annual Little Miss African American Scholarship Pageant. The red carpet event will take place on Sunday, August 2, 2026 @ 4 PM PT, Barnsdall Art Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027. The red-carpet starts at 3:00 PM.
The first Miss Black America, Von Gretchen Shepherd (seated in the front row in the blue tracksuit next to Lisa Ruffin, Founder of LMAA), came to rehearsal to teach the girls how to strut the stage at the pageant.
Link to Purchase Tickets
www.littlemissafricanamerican.org
Producer/Choreographer, NAACP Theater Award Nominee Lisa Ruffin, along with 30 girls and celebrities, will celebrate the 32nd Anniversary of the Little Miss African-American Scholarship Pageant, of educating our future leaders. Each year, the star-studded event increases the confidence of little African-American girls from across the country. Celebrities, Community leaders, and influencers donate their time to serve as judges or hosts.
Numerous girls have graduated from college, and one of their former Queens Sari will travel to NYC, as she was chosen to study at the Alvin Ailey summer intensive program. Also, former LMAA contestant Layla Diggs went on to become a professional wrestler with the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Ruffin’s LMAA program hosts field trips for the girls to Debbie Allen’s Chocolate Nutcracker, among other fun learning events.
For the past 32 years, dozens of girls between the ages of 6 and 12 years old have participated in this program, hundreds of scholarships have been awarded, and lasting memories have been created for these young Academic and intellectual princesses. While some of them come from strong, supportive families, the majority of them come from underserved, single-family homes. The pageant provides an early introduction to the arts and training in public speaking, while promoting individual creativity and stimulating a heightened cultural understanding.
However, as more eager contestants joined, including some great girls from divergent economic backgrounds, they discovered some who had never experienced being a “Princess” or had even owned a dress before, and who were most in need of the LMAA’s core guideline of “Confidence, Awareness, and Pride”. They felt it was their duty to the girls to remain committed and come back this year. Through personal funds combined with the efforts and the help of incredible friends and Angels, they would not let these girls down and now hope to help create some incredible lasting memories for these young ladies. The pageant will award over $10,000 in scholarships and prizes every year.
WWW.LITTLEMISSAFRICANAMERICAN.ORG
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| About Lisa Ruffin Lisa Ruffin is a multi-talented performer and award-winning choreographer. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She attended The Juilliard School in New York City. Lisa has performed and choreographed in over 20 countries. Lisa’s choreography credits include television shows, “Moesha” starring Brandy, and “The Steve Harvey Show”. The NAACP ACT-SO Awards. Lisa has workedWith Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, James Brown, George Clinton, Rodney Cromwell, just to name a few. Lisa returned to her theatrical roots last year and decided to share her creative talents at the University of Southern California in the Musical Theatre Department. Lisa was honored to work on the University of Southern California’s “Spring Awaking” as the Choreographer and Intimacy Coordinator. Lisa started the beginning of this year by choreographing “SEIZE THE KING” at the University of Southern California. Lisa choreographed and received glowing reviews for her choreography for “In the Continuum” at The Ensemble Theatre of Santa Barbara. Lisa returned to The Ensemble Theatre last fall to choreograph the stage play “CARMEN,” for which she was nominated for a NAACP Theater Award. Lisa created and implemented the Little Miss African American Scholarship Pageant, a 501 ( c ) (3) Nonprofit, Tax-Exempt Charitable Organization, which is the longest-running scholarship pageant for young girls in that age group. This educational program is in its 32nd year of operation. Over 200 Little Miss African American Alumni have graduated from colleges like USC, UCLA, and Spelman. If you want to learn more about Lisa, you can go to her website at LisaRuffin.com or www.Instagram.com/officiallisaruffin |
