The movie musical “The Color Purple,” entertainer Usher and former presidential inauguration poet Amanda Gorman were among the big winners at the 55th annual NAACP Image Awards ceremony—held Saturday at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles—where continuing to fight for Black representation and honoring underappreciated Black women were some of the themes in winners’ acceptance speeches. Queen Latifah hosted the show, which was televised in the U.S. on CBS, BET and other Paramount-owned networks.
This year, the NAACP Image Awards continued to give recognition to Black entertainment that is often snubbed by the Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, and Grammy Awards. According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Image Award nominations are determined by committees made of representatives from the entertainment industry and the NAACP. NAACP members and the general public vote for the winners.
“The Color Purple” dominates in awards wins
The movie musical version of “The Color Purple” (which received only one Oscar nomination, for supporting actress Danielle Brooks) won 11 awards from its 16 nominations: Outstanding Motion Picture; Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (for Fantasia Barrino); Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (for Taraji P. Henson); Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (for Colman Domingo); Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture (for Phylicia Pearl Mpasi); Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture), for director Blitz Bazawule; Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture; Outstanding Costume Design; Outstanding Makeup; Outstanding Hairstyling; and Outstanding Soundtrack/Compilation Album. The latter seven categories were not shown on TV.
“The Color Purple” supporting actress Brooks, who plays the sassy Sofia, spoke on behalf of “The Color Purple” team when accepting the prize for Outstanding Motion Picture. She thanked the stars of the 1985 version of “The Color Purple” movie, which included Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover.
“This story really is our cinematic heirloom,” Brooks said. “We pray that this story continues to heal families [and] trauma, that we continue to love on each other, forgive one another, and become the heroes and sheroes of our own story.”
Barrino said in her acceptance speech of her award-winning performance as a domestic abuse survivor: “I was afraid to play Celie, but I’m glad I did. I kept saying that if I don’t win an award, the awards I will win are the people who will watch ‘The Color Purple,’ and the women who will relate to her and will feel like Oscars when they walk out.”
“The Color Purple” star also thanked her late grandmother and her mother, who she described as “the first queen that I saw who carried herself with elegance and class.” Barrino added: “My mother was a woman who went through a lot of things. I saw her, after everything she went through, walk out like a queen, with a smile on her face.”
The show also became a vehicle for advancing a message that “Color Purple” star Taraji P. Henson has been pushing. Near the beginning of the show, host Queen Latifah said, “Everyone’s talking about inflation. You know what’s not feeling inflation?” The cameras then pivoted to Henson in the audience, who said “Equal pay for Black actresses.”
For months, Henson has made well-publicized claims that she and other Black actresses have been underpaid for “The Color Purple” and many other projects.
“Thank you, Taraji, for standing up for all of us,” said Queen Latifah before asking all the Black actresses in the room to stand.
Minutes later, Henson was on stage accepting an NAACP Image Award for her “Color Purple” performance as seductive singer Shug Avery. It was Henson’s 12th award out of 19 nominations. In her acceptance speech, she made reference to her grassroots campaign.
“It’s a scary thing to speak your truth, but I urge you all to speak your truth. At the end of the day, that’s all we have. And like they say, ‘The truth will set you free.’ And not only that, it will set somebody else free,” she said.
Usher thanks his mother
Usher hasn’t won a Grammy since 2013 (for the song “Climax”), but he was the top music winner at this year’s NAACP Image Awards. Usher won the prizes for Entertainer of the Year and Outstanding Male Artist, in addition to receiving the NAACP President’s Award, which is a noncompetitive category. Usher’s current album, “Coming Home,” was released Feb. 9, and is eligible to be nominated for the 2025 Grammy Awards.
After receiving the President’s Award from NAACP President Derrick Johnson, Usher dedicated the prize to his mother, Jonnetta Patton, who raised him as a single parent and was his first manager.
“I recognize her more than anybody. … Far too often in our industry, women don’t get the recognition they truly deserve. When we first started, it was even harder for a mother to believe in the dreams that I had. … But she was more defiant. If anyone deserves this [award] more than anybody, it’s her.”
Usher also spoke about his passion for Usher’s New Look Foundation, a charity he described as doing things for “underserved communities that will change the future for our disenfranchised young men and women. It’s not a hand-me-out. It’s an opportunity. If I’m recognized for that, then that is God’s plan. That is the legacy that I preferred to be recognized for, more than everything that I could do.”
Winfrey made a surprise appearance at the end of the ceremony to present the award for Entertainer of the Year. When Usher went up on stage to accept, he said to Winfrey standing at the side of the stage: “When I was a kid, I got my start on your show. I’m so happy it led up to this moment.”
He talked about the incredulity of a year that has included marriage, sold-out Las Vegas residency and a star-studded Super Bowl halftime performance.
“As long as you have a belief in yourself, you can get what you want in life,” he said.
‘Abbott Elementary’ wins the most awards in TV categories
In the TV categories, ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” is one of the few Black-oriented shows that wins awards at almost every major ceremony, including the Emmy Awards. “Abbott Elementary” won the most TV prizes (three prizes from six nominations) at this year’s NAACP Image Awards: Outstanding Comedy Series; Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (for Quinta Brunson); and Outstanding Supporting Actor on a Comedy Series (for William Stanford Davis). It was Brunson’s third NAACP Image Award after receiving five NAACP Image Award nominations as an individual.
“Thank you to my family. I hope my mom and dad are watching—and all the Black people in my life,” Brunson said.
But for every person like Brunson who wins awards at many different ceremonies, the NAACP Image Awards gives recognition to more Black people who are never nominated at other major awards shows.
“Snowfall” star Damson Idris and “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” star India Ria Amarteifio both won their first NAACP Image Awards this year, despite no Emmy nominations. Idris won Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of drug kingpin Franklin Saint in FX’s “Snowfall.” Amarteifio won Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series, for her portrayal of the title character in Netflix’s “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.”
Idris said in his acceptance speech that his mother flew 17 hours from Lagos, Nigeria, to be there. “Before she got on the plane, she said, ‘Damson, if I come to Los Angeles, you better win,’ “ he said.
Idris added: “This award has been won by so many heroes of mine: James Earl Jones, Michael K. Williams, Laurence Fishburne. I’m honored to be standing amongst them. I’m honored to be standing amongst you.”
Amarteifio’s first NAACP Image Award nomination resulted in this award for her. She said that she is grateful for her role in “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” series, which also won for Outstanding Drama Series: “It has made me feel so grounded in what it means to be a Black person and a Black woman,” she said.
New Edition recognized for elevating boy bands
New Edition received the Hall of Fame Award, a noncompetitive category. The award introduction was made by Donnie Wahlberg, an actor and a member of New Kids on the Block, a boy band that was formed after former New Edition manager Maurice Starr decided to create and manage a white version of New Edition.
“Without New Edition, there is no New Kids on the Block, no Backstreet Boys, no *NSYNC, no Justin Timberlake, no One Direction, no Harry Styles,” Wahlberg said. “We all owe our success to the greatest of all time: New Edition.”
Taking the stage to accept the award were all six members of New Edition: Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Bobby Brown, Ronnie DeVoe, Johnny Gill, and Ralph Tresvant.
DeVoe thanked a host of people, including music producer Brooke Payne, who came up with the New Edition name, and previous Hall of Fame Award winners, which include Sammy Davis Jr., Harry Belafonte, and Lena Horne. “So many shoulders we stand on top of right now. We thank you for providing us with a firm foundation we stand on today,” DeVoe said.
Bivins added, “We stand here from Boston, straight out of the Orchard Park projects. We stand here from Washington, D.C. And more importantly, we stand here in brotherhood. … Y’all watched us grow up. We’re still growing.”
NAACP Chairman Leon Russell presented poet and activist Amanda Gorman with the Chairman’s Award, a noncompetitive category. In her acceptance speech, Gorman said Black people must visualize success.
“We must reform our dreams into fact from fiction,” she said. “Our people have not always seen our likeness, our brightness, our impact portrayed. Still, we have made this movement in our own image.”
She continued, “We have battled for our own representation. We have birthed this nation. … We cannot not just possess a vision of justice. We must be able to picture ourselves within it. It is how we honor our ancestors and more. It is how we inspire our successors.”
Queen Latifah, who turns 54 today, got a flood of birthday wishes when Sheryl Lee Ralph led the audience in a sing-along of Stevie Wonder’s version of “Happy Birthday.” Queen Latifah seemed surprised and genuinely touched by this birthday praise.
Other presenters at the show were Kenya Barris, Ryan Michelle Bathé, Sterling K. Brown, Morris Chestnut, Deon Cole, Idris Elba, Sabrina Elba, Henson, Lil Rel Howery, Leslie Jones, Diarra Kilpatrick, Delroy Lindo, Keke Palmer, Kerry Washington, and Jeffrey Wright. Andra Day performed a soulful rendition of Minnie Riperton’s “Memory Lane” for the ceremony’s “In Memoriam” segment paying tribute to notable Black people who passed away since the previous NAACP Image Awards show.
Many of the prizes were handed out in non-televised, livestreamed ceremonies from March 11 to March 14.
A complete list of winners can be found on the official NAACP Image Awards website.
