2016 NAACP Image Awards (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

The NAACP Image Awards have been around for the past 48 years. That is almost five decades of honoring black excellence at the highest level. In 2015 and 2016, it seemed as if black America had been sent a memo that the esteemed Oscars were just for white talent, thus causing the internet to erupt in the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.


And while we deserve to be outraged over being ignored or treated as if we’re less-than in any capacity, the solution has and always will be: Create your own. We don’t need a seat at their table when we have our own.

So, no, the NAACP Image Awards are not a black answer to the Oscars; they’re a tangible testimony that our exceptional accomplishments deserve to be celebrated!




The NAACP Image Awards celebrate the accomplishment of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film, and also honor individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors.



This is our night to celebrate our stars and our legacies. The all-star celebration will be hosted by Anthony Anderson and will broadcast live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium 9-11 p.m ET on Saturday on TV One. A 90-minute preshow will air from the red carpet 7:30-9 p.m ET.

And this year, The Root will be in the building! We’re covering the red carpet, so make sure you stay tuned to our social media to get your fill of black excellence!



Greats like Taraji P. Henson, Sterling K. Brown, Octavia Spencer, Trevor Noah, Janelle Monáe, Issa Rae, Mike Colter and Mykelti Williamson are all NAACP Image Awards presenters.




Here are just a few of the nominees:

Entertainer of the Year

Chance the Rapper

Regina King

Dwayne Johnson

Beyoncé

Viola Davis

Outstanding Motion Picture

Hidden Figures

Moonlight

Fences

Loving

The Birth of a Nation

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture

Don Cheadle, Miles Ahead

Will Smith, Collateral Beauty

Stephan James, Race

Denzel Washington, Fences

Nate Parker, The Birth of a Nation

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture

Madina Nalwanga, Queen of Katwe

Tika Sumpter, Southside with You

Ruth Negga, Loving

Taraji P. Henson, Hidden Figures

Angela Bassett, London Has Fallen

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

Alano Miller, Loving

David Oyelowo, Queen of Katwe

Trevante Rhodes, Moonlight

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Chadwick Boseman, Captain America: Civil War

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Viola Davis, Fences

Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures

Mo’Nique, Almost Christmas

Aja Naomi King, The Birth of a Nation

Lupita Nyong’o, Queen of Katwe

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture

Lion

Miles Ahead

The Birth of a Nation

Moonlight

Loving

Outstanding Comedy Series

Insecure

Black-ish

Survivor’s Remorse

The Carmichael Show

Atlanta

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series

Dwayne Johnson, Ballers

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish

Donald Glover, Atlanta

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Kevin Hart, Real Husbands of Hollywood



Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series

Issa Rae, Insecure

Keesha Sharp, Lethal Weapon

Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black

Niecy Nash, Soul Man

Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Laurence Fishburne, Black-ish

David Alan Grier, The Carmichael Show

Deon Cole, Black-ish

Miles Brown, Black-ish

Tituss Burgess, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Laverne Cox, Orange Is the New Black

Erica Ash, Survivor’s Remorse

Yvonne Orji, Insecure

Marsai Martin, Black-ish

Tichina Arnold, Survivor’s Remorse

Outstanding Drama Series

Power

Empire

Underground

This Is Us

Queen Sugar

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series

Terrence Howard, Empire

Mike Colter, Marvel’s Luke Cage

Kofi Siriboe, Queen Sugar

Omari Hardwick, Power

Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series

Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Underground

Taraji P. Henson, Empire

Rutina Wesley, Queen Sugar

Kerry Washington, Scandal

Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Trai Byers, Empire

Jussie Smollett, Empire

Joe Morton, Scandal

Jesse Williams, Grey’s Anatomy

Alfred Enoch, How to Get Away With Murder

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Cicely Tyson, How to Get Away With Murder

Lynn Whitfield, Greenleaf

Amirah Vann, Underground

CCH Pounder, NCIS: New Orleans

Naturi Naughton, Power

See the full list of nominees here!