The 55th NAACP Image Awards is a day away. Ahead of the starlit televised night, some of Hollywood’s brightest stars arrived on the red carpet for the NAACP awards gala at the Hollywood Palladium. Winners were unveiled earlier this week during NAACP’s Virtual Awards ceremony, preceding the live telecast.
The awards show is made up of over 90 categories, and the dinner serves as an opportunity for non-televised nominations to receive awards amongst their peers.
Some of Thursday night’s winners included “Origins” Ava Duvernay, for Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture, Adrian Holmes for Outstanding Supporting Actor in “Bel-Air”, and “The Sherri Shepherd Show” for Outstanding Host in a Talk / News information (Series or Special).
Accepting her award in tears, Shepherd expressed her gratitude and explained how studio executives wouldn’t bother to watch her sizzle reel when she shared her talk show ideas.
“It took me 23-plus years to get to this place,” Shepherd said. “Sometimes you have to mature into the dream that you’ve been dreaming about.”
“Bel-Air” star Adrian Holmes reflected on his childhood dreams of being a part of the NAACP Image Awards.
“One thing I love about the NAACP is it’s a platform to shine light on Black excellence in this great nation, but also around the world,” Holmes said. “I am an example of that. I’m from Vancouver, Canada, and I’m here with all these beautiful Black people and I’ve watched this show since I was a little boy… What it shows is all that we are and all that we can be.”
The “Creed III” standout, Mila Davis-Kent made history as the first deaf actor to be nominated and win a NAACP award. Kent-Davis worked alongside Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson as the daughter of the Creed family.
“I can’t believe I did this, I made it to the carpet, " Davis-Kent said. “This is just an important moment to me and I feel extremely honored to be here, especially being nominated in two different categories. It’s just so rare for that to happen, so I’m excited.”
Nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited Series (or Dramatic Special), Gabrielle Union of Netflix’s “The Perfect Find” felt honored to be recognized by her community.
“Our community came out, the diaspora came out for us in a major, major way,” said Union. “It lets studios know that you can take more opportunities, more risks on Black films and we show up.”
Union also stressed the importance of young actors remaining focused on hard work versus instantaneous fame. “In this day and age, you have to decide, ‘do you want to be famous or do you want to do the work?’” said Union. “... Stick to that; being unwavering and never giving up on yourself is important.”
NAACP Image Award winning comedian, Kevin Fredericks (Kev On Stage) reflected on the joy he felt as a winner for his podcast - “Here’s the Thing” co-hosted with Angel Laketa Moore (That Chick Angel).
“This is the highest award in our community… to be invited, to be nominated and to win, it’s great! Two times in a row,” said Fredericks. Both received an award for Outstanding Arts, Entertainment, and Sports Podcast.
Aaron Kinglsey Adetola, known for his role as the actress Teyana Taylor’s son, Terry, in “A Thousand and One,” hit the red carpet. He was excited that the movie won for Outstanding Cinematography in a Feature Film and discussed being on set.
“It felt great to be on set with them because they gave me advice [and told me] to always focus.” Adetola also shared tips for other child actors. “Focus, always pay attention, and whoever does auditions with you… listen to them.”
Best known for his role as Uncle Clifford on the drama series “P-Valley,” Nicco Annan made a special appearance on the red carpet as a guest presenter for the ceremony.
He also reflected on the importance of being highlighted as a Black LGBTQ person.
“I’m an out, gay, proud man. I never thought the community would love me out loud,” said Annan. “All of you are out there that are a part of the conversations that are shifting, that are loving your children out loud… congratulations because that’s a part of you.”
The performer at the awards dinner, singer Lalah Hathaway, discussed the importance of Black excellence. “I am honored. It’s always great to come out and celebrate Black excellence and the legacy of African Americans; I’m proud,” said Hathaway.
Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of NAACP, arrived carpet-ready and thrilled about the awards dinner. “It’s important for us to see ourselves for who we are... we’re not chasing someone else’s platform; we are building our own,” said Johnson.
As the 2024 election is in full swing, Johnson encouraged stars to use their platforms to encourage their supporters to vote during the dinner.
“We cannot take our freedoms for granted. We must continue to fight for them, and to protect them, with everything we have,” Johnson said. “The NAACP was founded for this fight. We are committed now and forever, but we cannot fight alone. We need your commitment. Alone we cannot win. Together, we cannot lose.”
Vice Chair of the NAACP Board of Directors, Karen Boykin-Towns spoke about the NAACP events leading up to the live telecast. “It is exhilarating. The team has been working for months and it’s not just to execute one event. We had several [events] during the week.”
Boykin-Towns also kicked off the awards gala with a speech celebrating notable contributions of Black women in Hollywood during Women’s History Month.
During the awards dinner, guest presenters included Coco Jones, Courtney B. Vance, Druski, Jarrell Jerome, Luke James, Patina Miller and more.
The 55th NAACP Image awards will air live across 14 different channels including BET and CBS on March 16, 2024 at 8PM ET/PT.
The full list of winners:
Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture
Cord Jefferson - American Fiction
Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture
Ava DuVernay - Origin
Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Chloe Bailey - Praise This
Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Keith Powers - The Perfect Find
Outstanding Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
Swarm
Outstanding Talk Series
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble
Sherri Shepherd - Sherri
Outstanding Animated Motion Picture
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Gail Bean - Snowfall
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Adrian Holmes - Bel-Air
Outstanding Drama Series
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgeton Story
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Ayo Edebiri - The Bear
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
William Stanford Davis - Abbott Elementary
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture
Phylicia Pearl Mpasi - The Color Purple
Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary
Outstanding Youth Performance (Motion Picture)
Mila Davis-Kent - Creed III
Outstanding Social Media Personality
Angel Laketa Moore
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited–Series or Dramatic Special
Phylicia Rashad - Heaven Down Here
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Television Movie, Limited–Series or Dramatic Special
Don Cheadle - Secret Invasion
Outstanding International Motion Picture
Brother