Lencola Sullivan
Encyclopedia
Lencola Sullivan is an American news anchor and former beauty queen from Morrilton, Arkansas
who has competed in the Miss America
pageant.
Sullivan won the Miss Arkansas
title in July 1980 and represented Arkansas
in the Miss America
1980 pageant held later that year in Atlantic City, New Jersey
. Sullivan became the first African-American woman to win preliminary awards in the pageant and was also the first to place among the top five, where she was fourth runner-up.
Sullivan became a news reporter on KARK-TV
in Little Rock
, Arkansas and later moved to New York City
where she dated Stevie Wonder
for a short period of time.
Morrilton, Arkansas
Morrilton is a city in Conway County, Arkansas, United States, northwest of Little Rock. The town was home to Harding College, now Harding University of Searcy, Arkansas, for about a decade in the 1920s and 1930s. The population was 6,550 at the 2000 census...
who has competed in the Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
pageant.
Sullivan won the Miss Arkansas
Miss Arkansas
The Miss Arkansas competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Arkansas in the Miss America pageant. Arkansas has twice won the Miss America title.-Results summary:...
title in July 1980 and represented Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
in the Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
1980 pageant held later that year in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
. Sullivan became the first African-American woman to win preliminary awards in the pageant and was also the first to place among the top five, where she was fourth runner-up.
Sullivan became a news reporter on KARK-TV
KARK-TV
KARK, virtual channel 4, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Arkansas that is licensed to Little Rock. Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group, the station is sister to MyNetworkTV affiliate KARZ-TV and the two share studios on West Capitol Avenue in Downtown Little Rock one block...
in Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, Arkansas and later moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where she dated Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
for a short period of time.