EGOT honoree Viola Davis will receive the Chairman’s Award at this year’s NAACP Image Awards.
Davis has already won nine NAACP Image Awards for her performances in “How to Get Away with Murder,” “The Queen,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Fences,” “Won’t Back Down,” “The Help,” and her 2022 memoir “Finding Me.” She will receive the Chairman’s Award at the 57th annual awards ceremony, which will be broadcast live on BET and CBS from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Saturday, February 28th. Davis was also nominated for an Image Award for her role in Amazon/MGM Studios’ action thriller “G20.”
The Chairman’s Award recognizes individuals who have “excelled public service and use their unique platforms to inspire and advance meaningful change,” and Davis in particular has been recognized for both his impactful work on camera and his tireless efforts on social justice issues. Among Mr. Davis’ notable accomplishments is partnering with multiple programs to end childhood hunger in the United States, most recently launching the Davis Tennon Foundation.
“Viola Davis is a generational talent who has captivated audiences with her powerful and transcendent performances,” said NAACP National Board Chairman Leon W. Russell, acknowledging Davis’ “deep and impactful work to drive change.”
Russell continued, “Through a career defined by excellence and courage, she has used her platform to champion opportunity and equity, creating an undeniable legacy for generations to come. We look forward to celebrating her and the pioneering path she forged for herself and others to follow.”
The award is just the latest special acknowledgment for Davis, who won the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2025 Golden Globe Awards and was inducted into the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame last summer. She also received an honorary doctorate from the American Film Institute. In 2022, she received the Public Counsel’s William O. Douglas Award for her commitment to social justice.
Davis will succeed Vice President Kamala Harris, last year’s recipient of the Chairman’s Award, who gave an impassioned speech in her first television appearance since leaving office. Other past recipients include Amanda Gorman, Samuel L. Jackson, the late U.S. Representative John Lewis, Ruby Dee, Danny Glover, the Rev. James Lawson, Tyler Perry, then-Senator Barack Obama, Congressman Bennie G. Thompson, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and former Surgeon General Regina Benjamin.
“Viola Davis embodies what it means to use your platform for the good of others,” said Connie Orlando, BET’s executive vice president of specials, music programming and music strategy. “She has combined extraordinary artistic accomplishments with meaningful action, from advocating for equity to addressing child hunger to uplifting underserved communities. Recognizing her with the Chairman’s Award recognizes a legacy defined not only by excellence in entertainment, but also by an enduring commitment to public service.”
Other special honorees from this year’s NAACP Image Awards Week include A$AP Rocky, who will receive the Vanguard Award for Fashion, which will be presented at the annual fashion show on Friday, Feb. 27, and Rev. Jamal Harrison Bryant, who will receive the prestigious Mildred Bond Roxborough Social Justice Impact Award at Creative Honors on Thursday, Feb. 26.
