The 57th NAACP Image Awards week began Monday, with former first lady Michelle Obama and rapper Kendrick Lamar winning two of the early awards.
Obama’s latest book, “The Look,” which explores the evolution of her style from her time in the White House to the rest of her life, won the award for outstanding literary biography or autobiography. Meanwhile, Lamar’s emotional Super Bowl halftime performance was named Outstanding Short-Short Series or Special in Reality/Nonfiction/Documentary. Both Obama and Lamar are regular Image Award winners, with her winning the category in 2019 for her memoir “Becoming,” and Obama winning nine trophies from the NAACP, including two for the 2025 national anthem “Not Like Us.”
These awards will be announced during the first of a three-night virtual event, in which winners will be announced in most of the Image Awards’ 90-plus categories, including film, television, streaming, music, literature, podcasts and more. The pre-show ceremony, hosted by Angels “That Chick Angel” Rachta Moore and Cleo Thomas, aired exclusively on YouTube and NAACP+, and focused primarily on the literary categories and two digital content creator awards. The NAACP Image Awards include gaming for the first time, with Berlin Edmund Jr., aka Berleezy, taking home the top award.
The 57th Annual NAACP Image Awards telecast will air live on BET and CBS on Saturday, February 28th at 8pm ET/PT. Deon Cole will once again host the show, which will be broadcast from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” led all nominations with a massive 18 nominations, while the recently concluded Peacock series “Bel-Air” led the television category with seven nominations. Nominees for Entertainer of the Year, the show’s signature category, include Cynthia Erivo, Doechey, Lamar, Michael B. Jordan and Teyana Taylor.
Special honorees for this year’s NAACP Image Awards Week include Viola Davis, who will receive the President’s Award; Mr. Colman Domingo, Presidential Award Winner. A$AP Rocky wins the Vanguard Award in the fashion category. and the Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant, who will receive the prestigious Mildred Bond Roxborough Social Justice Impact Award.
Watch the virtual pre-show ceremony in the video above. The full list of winners from night one can be found below.
Great literary works – biography/autobiography
“The Look” – Michelle Obama (The Crown)
Great literary works – non-fiction
“A More Perfect Party: The Night Shirley Chisholm and Dearhan Carroll Reshaped Politics” – Juanita Tolliver (Legacy Lit/Hachette Book Group)
Great literary works – educational works
“Who is better than you?” – Will Packer (Penguin Random House)
Great literary works – journalism
“On Borrowed Time” – Anissa Durham (online)
Excellent literary work – debut author
Charles B. Fancher – Red Clay (Blackstone Publishing)
Great literary works – fiction
“Death of the Author” – Nnedi Okorafor (William Morrow)
Great literary works – poems
“The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems” – Patricia Smith (Scribner)
Great literary works – children
“Yvonne Clark and Her Engineering Spark” – Allen R. Wells; Illustration: DeAndra Hodge (Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers/Macmillan)
Great Literature – Youth/Teens
“Nick Blake and the Remarkables: The Book of Anansi” – Angie Thomas (HarperCollins/Clarion Books)
Great Literary Works – Graphic Novels
“Parable of the Talents: A Graphic Novel Adaptation” – Octavia E. Butler, adapted by Damien Duffy, illustrated by John Jennings and David Brame (Abrams ComicArts)
Great short series or special – Reality/Non-Fiction/Documentary
“Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar” (FOX)
Great Digital Content Creator – Games/Technology
Berlin Edmund Jr. (@Berleezy)
Great Digital Content Creator – Fitness/Wellness/Food
Keith Lee (@keith_lee125)
