Miyae Folkes, age 12,
from Los Angeles, CA –
LMAA Queen 2014
Los Angeles – The Little Miss African American Scholarship Pageant (LMAA) successfully celebrated its 21st year and crowned Miyae Folkes, age 12, as its new queen. Actresses Laila Ali and Meagan Good hosted, joining Dawnn Lewis who served as the mistress of ceremonies, as little misses ages six to 12, competed for scholarships and prizes. Pageant producer Lisa Ruffin highlighted this year’s production by acknowledging past contestants who had participated over the years and were now grown up.
Left to right: Actress Laila Ali, pageant producer Lisa Ruffin, LMAA Queen Mayae Folkes, 2nd runner up, Chaya Mathews from Las Vegas, actress Dawnn Lewis and actress Megan Good
Judges this year included Penny Johnson Jerald (ABC-TV’s “Castle); Ella Joyce (TV One’s Belle’s); Lamman Rucker (TBS’s “Meet the Browns”); Shamicka Lawrence (VH-1’s “Hollywood Exes”), actress Roz Ryan and TV/radio host Mother Love, to name just a few. Over $10,000 in scholarship and prizes were awarded with Women Aware making a generous $5,000 contribution.
Little Miss African American Scholarship Pageant is the longest running pageant of its kind and continues to extend its history of dedication to a legacy of nurturing young girls into proud and intelligent young women. The original creation of actress/ choreographer Lisa Ruffin, the Little Miss African American Scholarship pageant continues to emphasize brains over beauty, positively impacting the lives of thousands of impressionable young women.
Actor and LMAA judge, Lamman Rucker
pageant producer/ choreographer, Lisa Ruffin and
LMAA technical advisor, Paul Jones
For more information go to http://littlemissafricanamerican.org/ .
For a visual overview of the pageant and its impact on contestants, go to http://vimeo.com/15018101.
All Photos: NFR Photography
