In December, I wrote that the best performances of the year were Black. The NAACP Image Awards is the only awards show that got the memo. Every year, the NAACP Image Awards recognize the best Black talent in entertainment. Every year, it is the awards show that prioritizes Black creative work and the projects that are often overlooked elsewhere. We’ve been saying for years that it’s about time the industry starts treating these awards with the same clout, respect, and adulation as every other prestigious honor in Hollywood, but honestly, maybe we don’t need them to. It isn’t about them. It’s about us. As Keke Palmer said in her acceptance speech for Entertainer of the Year at the 56th NAACP Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday, “It’s so important that we come here together and celebrate one another,” Palmer said. “Nobody has uplifted me more than you, all the people in this room.”
