The NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, founded in 1909 to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure social, educational, political, and economic equality for all. Their mission translated into the entertainment space, as Toni Vaz, a pioneering Hollywood stuntwoman, actress, and activist, founded the NAACP Image Awards in 1967 to promote positive representation of Black people in entertainment.
Now in its 57th year and touted as Black culture’s biggest night, the Image Awards’ purpose remains the same: to properly spotlight Black creatives, entertainers, and activists who are making a difference within their communities and beyond.
This year’s special honorees of the Image Awards, which are airing live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Saturday, February 28, at 8:00 PM ET on BET and CBS with comedian Deon Cole as its host, are reflective of the cultural zeitgeist and impact that the entertainers have made, as Colman Domingo will be presented with the President’s Award, which is presented in recognition of notable achievement and distinguished public service.
Additionally, Viola Davis will receive the Chairman’s Award, and Salt-N-Pepa will receive the Hall of Fame Award at Saturday’s show. The lineup of presenters for the ceremony will include “Sinners” filmmaker Ryan Coogler and stars Delroy Lindo and Miles Caton; “One Battle After Another” duo Chase Infiniti and Regina Hall; “You, Me & Tuscany” stars Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page; Ryan Michelle Bathé; Sterling K. Brown; and more. NAACP president & CEO Derrick Johnson and NAACP chairman Leon W. Russell will also present during the ceremony.
To help pull off the behemoth of the Image Awards, the NAACP has partnered with BET for several years to televise the Image Awards and back the beloved award show.
Connie Orlando, executive vice president of specials, music programming & music strategy at BET, says their partnership is a no-brainer. “The Image Awards is one of my absolute favorite award shows. I think it remains one of the most important celebrations of Black excellence. And the beauty of it is, of course, entertainment, storytelling, and culture. This time of year, the partnership between BET and NAACP reflects a shared commitment to recognizing achievement while inspiring future generations. And that is right up our alley. That’s what we do in service to others. Shows like The Image Awards bring the community together, and they remind the audience of the depth of talent and areas that they don’t always get to hear,” she says to me in a Zoom interview.
2026 is year five of the BET and NAACP partnership, and there is continued synergy between the two organizations. I can’t believe we didn’t do this a long time ago, because it just makes sense. It’s a perfect alignment of values. It’s all about the progress of our community,” Orlando continued. “Celebrating Black excellence is central to our purpose. The NAACP represents culture, history, and progress. At the end of the day, we will always do shows like this to strengthen our audience’s trust in us, and to reinforce our role as a platform that elevates achievement and possibility that will not change.”
What makes the NAACP Image Awards so special each year, and what distinguishes this year’s show from previous ones, according to Robin Harrison, Vice President, NAACP Hollywood Bureau, is that the show is created to highlight outstanding Black professionals. “The Image Awards are for us, by us. That is what really makes it different and special. Each year, the political climate that we’re in dictates what the show and the messaging around the show is,” she shares via email. “We are a nonprofit that has an award show. Unlike other award shows, they created an award show, then a nonprofit. So, our goals are slightly different from those of other award shows. I don’t want to speak to or diminish the other award shows, but the reality is that we are not recognized at those shows, and the work our community does is not always uplifted. At the Image Awards, we celebrate ourselves.”
She continues, “We are a nonprofit organization with an award show, and that is always at the forefront of everything. Some people don’t even know about the NAACP, but they know about the Image Award, can watch it, and understand our organization a little bit better. The messaging that’s coming out of the show really is about what’s happening in our current world, and the political climate of the world.”
Harrison, who is part of the NAACP Hollywood Bureau team, shared that their key initiatives are accountability, access, representation, advocacy, collaboration, consultation, and inclusion. Aside from the Image Awards, NAACP works tirelessly to deliver a slew of thoughtful events that highlight the organization’s diversity, including nominees and honorees, aptly titled Image Week, such as a virtual awards show, a celebrity golf tournament, a fashion show, and more. The Creative Honors event, the non-televised pre-show ahead of the Image Awards, is part of the weeklong events and celebrations. Held on Thursday, February 26, the event presented awards in various TV and film categories, with “Sinners,” “Abbott Elementary,” “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” and “Reasonable Doubt” winning. Pastor and activist Jamaal Bryant took home the Mildred Bond Roxborough Social Justice Impact Award.
This year, the Climate Justice Bureau and the Hollywood Bureau have worked together to bring a short film program to Image Week and have also premiered some of those films at the Hollywood Bureau. The Cinematic Short Film Showcase featured a discussion about climate justice short film projects, and the Hollywood Bureau held a symposium featuring Hollywood thought leaders, including veteran actress Nia Long and NAACP Vice Chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors, Karen Boykin-Towns.
Boykin-Towns, who is also the chair of the Image Awards committee and an executive producer of the live show, spoke with me about how the Image Awards’ success is relevant to the broader organization, especially given the current political climate. “We are lifting creatives’ projects that often do not get recognized unless they come through the Image Awards. The atmosphere feels very celebratory, like a family reunion, where people are so happy to see each other, so happy to congratulate and encourage each other. And I think that’s really what’s at the heart,” she says to me. “We are a not-for-profit that does an award show, versus a commercial entity that does an award show. So when people see us, and it’s the craziest thing, they don’t always connect the day-to-day. You know, bread and butter, stuff that we do every day for 117 years, they see the glitz, the glamour of Image Awards, not understanding that it is the primary revenue driver that fuels our work.”
She continues, “The Image Awards are also the biggest platform we have for our visibility. So when we talk about people wanting to find a vehicle to engage with, that vehicle is the NAACP. So when the creatives and celebrities meet our team, they hear about what we’re doing, which helps bring them on to increase our visibility and support our fundraising. That’s important for us, because these individuals have huge platforms. They have influence, and they are great ambassadors to the issues that are important to our community.”
Black Hollywood has always been synonymous with social and political impact, and Boykin-Towns agrees with that sentiment. “We have a rich tradition of that. When you think about Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis Jr, Cicely Tyson, Ruby Dee, and Ozzie Davis, the legacy of them using their platforms to advance social civil rights is impactful,” she says.
This year’s Image Awards theme is “We See You.” For Boykin-Towns, the theme is a response to the direct erasure the Black community has experienced in several different verticals, namely economically, with over 300,000 Black women laid off and a decision to end DEI as President Trump stated during his recent State of the Union address. “Art is activism. Joy is a form of activism. ‘We see You’ is a declaration, an affirmation that despite these attacks on our economy, well-being, and diversity and inclusion, your voice matters, your work matters, your humanity matters. We want to be sure that we let you know you’re reminded of your excellence, and we celebrate that, and we persist,” she states.
