While Black performers scarcely drew a nod during this years’s entertainment industry’s awards season, the March 4 NAACP Image Awards established that key artists cannot be ignored.
After a virtual Whiteout in nearly all of the major awards shows, including the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards, the NAACP eased some of that pain by honoring leading names in film, broadcast television, and popular music.
Two of the notable Black names snubbed by the major industry awards are Halle Berry and renowned director Tyler Perry.
Perry, who directed “For Colored Girls” and was skipped over again by the National Academy of Motion Pictures for an Oscar, carried home two NAACP Image Awards for directing. Perry’s film “For Colored Girls” earned three awards: best picture, director and outstanding supporting actress in a motion picture (Kimberly Elise).
Berry, whose appearance at the Oscars was limited to a tribute to entertainment legend Lena Horne, was named the Image Awards outstanding actress for her work in “Frankie & Alice”, a film about a woman struggling with personality disorders. Berry, despite rave reviews for her work in the racially charged film, didn’t receive either a Golden Globe or Oscar nomination.
Berry, appearing backstage to speak with reporters admitted that her role in “Frankie & Alice” presented an acting challenge for her. “It’s a difficult film,” Berry said. “Everyone has their own story.”
“Frankie & Alice” captured two NAACP Image Awards.
Berry and Perry weren’t the only big winners. Jill Scott received two awards, and Samuel L. Jackson (Mother and Child), Terrence Howard (Law & Order: Los Angeles, outstanding supporting actor), LL Cool J (NCIS: Los Angeles, outstanding actor in a drama series) and Vanessa (Desperate Housewives, outstanding actress in a comedy series), were also big winners.
In spite of the attention grabbing glitz and glamour, the Image Awards nevertheless drew some criticism. The NAACP was assailed for nominating artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj, Diddy Dirty Money, and B.O.B, whose works often include sexually explicit lyrics that many consider offensive.
Rev. Delman Coates, Organizer of the Enough Is Enough Campaign for Corporate Responsibility in Entertainment and Senior Pastor of the Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Md., was incensed that the NAACP would honor these individuals.
“It is a complete outrage that the NAACP and some of this country’s largest corporations would endorse artists that degrade women, use the N-word, and promote values that are antithetical to the goals and aspirations of most Americans,” Coates said in a statement.
“At a time when we have witnessed social and political progress in America, it is disheartening to see established civil rights organizations and leading American corporations promote some of the most stereotypical and offensive images and messages in the popular culture,” Coates said. “These are not images that any respectable civil rights organization or responsible American corporation should endorse.”
In spite of the concerns raised by Coates, NAACP President Benjamin Jealous nevertheless reasserted the NAACP’s focus on young people by stating that Black America faces daunting challenges.
“We are the most incarcerated generation on the planet, the most murdered generation in the country,” Jealous said backstage at the Image Awards. “What I am saying to a generation of young people, we have to get involved and fight.”
