Cicely Tyson, Will Smith, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Jemele Hill, Tabitha Brown Among Winners of 53rd NAACP Image Awards

Last night the NAACP kicked-off night one of the 53rd NAACP Image Awards announcing the first round of winners in the non-televised award categories, which included literary, podcast, and youth activist of the year awards. The awards were announced during the NAACP Image Awards’ Virtual Experience presented by Wells Fargo and hosted by actor and comedian Affion Crockett at naacpimageawards.net.

Winners included Nikole Hannah-Jones for Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction category, Will Smith for Outstanding Literary Work – Autobiography, Blindspot: Tulsa Burning for Outstanding Podcast (News & Information), Sherri Shepherd and Kym Whitley for Outstanding Podcast, and as previously announced, Channing Hill, NAACP Chapter President of Howard University, for Youth Activist of The Year.

The night additionally featured appearances from presenters including Asiahn Bryant, Lauren Wesley Wilson, Wisdom Cole, and Luke Lawal Jr.

The week-long 53rd NAACP Image Awards Virtual Experience from February 21-25, invites fans to join in a celebration of the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color across more than 80 competitive categories.

The “53rd NAACP Image Awards,” hosted by seven-time NAACP Image Awards winner Anthony Anderson, will air Saturday, February 26 at 8:00 PM ET/ 5:00 PM PT on BET, featuring a performance by nine-time Grammy Award-winning singer and two-time Academy Award-nominated actress and producer Mary J. Blige.

The full list of winners from night one can be found below:

Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction

“Long Division” – Kiese Laymon

Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction

“The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story” – Nikole Hannah-Jones

Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author

“Just As I Am” – Cicely Tyson

Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/ Autobiography

“Will”- Will Smith

Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional

“Feeding the Soul (Because It’s My Business)” – Tabitha Brown

Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry

“Perfect Black”- Crystal Wilkinson

Outstanding Literary Work – Children

“Stacey’s Extraordinary Words” – Stacey Abrams, Kitt Thomas

Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens

“Ace of Spades”- Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Outstanding Podcast – News and Information

Blindspot: “Tulsa Burning”

Outstanding Podcast – Arts and Entertainment

“Jemele Hill is Unbothered”

Outstanding Podcast – Society and Culture

“Jemele Hill is Unbothered”

Outstanding Podcast – Lifestyle / Self-Help

“Two Funny Mamas” – Sherri Shepherd & Kym Whitley

Special Award: Youth Activist of The Year

Channing Hill

Be sure to tune into the 53rd NAACP Awards Virtual Experience this week on naacpimageawards.net and YouTube, including:

The non-televised awards program will be hosted nightly by actor and comedian Affion Crockett and celebrity presenters Aida Rodriquez, Asiahn Bryant, Clint Coley, Cory Hardrict, Courtney Nichole, Demetrius Shipp Jr., Derrick Johnson, Karen Boykin-Towns, Khleo Thomas, Lauren Wesley Wilson, Leon W. Russell, Lori Harvey, Luke Lawal, Jr., Marcel Spears, Matt Cedeno, Melissa L. Williams, Wendy Raquel Robinson, and Wisdom Cole.
The Diaspora Perspectives series exploring the global nature of the film industry, the diversity of stories and experiences available on content platforms, featuring Nollywood, Ghollywood, and Britain’s biggest stars and innovators Richard Mofe-Damijo, Kemi Adetiba, Chris Attoh, Tope Oshin, Jimmy Jean Louis, Aml Ameen, and more.

The “53rd NAACP Image Awards” are presented by Wells Fargo and sponsored in part by AT&T Humanity of Connection, Google, T-Mobile, Bank of America, Gushers, FedEx, and Airbnb.

For all information and the latest news, please follow NAACP Image Awards on Instagram @NAACPImageAwards.

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Tags: Cicely Tyson, JEMELE HILL, NAACP Image Awards, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Tabitha Brown, Will Smith

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.