The 2022 NAACP Image Awards is announcing winners in several non-televised categories via streaming presentations this week.
On Monday, the NAACP presented awards in a number of literary and podcast categories as well as a special award for youth activist of the year to NAACP Howard University chapter president Channing Hill.
Notable literary winners from night one included Will Smith (best biography/autobiography) for his eponymous memoir Will; the late Cicely Tyson, who ironically won the award for debut author for her memoir Just As I Am; Nikole Hannah-Jones’ 1619 Project (best non-fiction literary work); Tabitha Brown’s Feeding the Soul (Because It’s My Business), which won for instructional literary work; and Stacey Abrams and Kitt Thomas’ children’s book, Stacey’s Extraordinary Words. Hannah-Jones is also set to receive the Social Justice Impact Award from the NAACP, it was previously announced.
In the podcast categories, Jemele Hill is Unbothered won the arts and entertainment and the society and culture awards. Sherri Shepherd and Kym Whitley’s Two Funny Mamas won best lifestyle/self-help podcast.
Going into the awards presentation, Jeymes Samuel’s Black Western Netflix movie The Harder They Fall and Issa Rae’s HBO comedy series Insecure scored a leading 12 nominations each.
The streaming, non-televised ceremonies, hosted by actor-comedian Affion Crockett, will continue through Friday before the live show, hosted by Anthony Anderson, airs on BET on Saturday, March 26 at 8 p.m.
The NAACP Image Awards recognizes the achievements and performances of people of color across more than 80 categories, including, this year, four new podcast categories.
A complete list of the awards handed out each night follows, with additional categories added every night. Refresh for the latest.
NIGHT ONE: Monday, Feb. 21, 2022
Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction
Long Division – Kiese Laymon (Simon & Schuster) (WINNER)
Harlem Shuffle – Colson Whitehead (Penguin Random House)
Libertie – Kaitlyn Greenidge (Algonquin Books)
The Man Who Lived Underground – Richard Wright (Library of America)
The Perishing – Natashia Deón (Counterpoint Press)
Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story – Nikole Hannah-Jones (Penguin Random House) (WINNER)
Dance Theatre of Harlem – Judy Tyrus, Paul Novosel (Kensington)
Just As I Am – Cicely Tyson (Amistad)
My Remarkable Journey – Katherine Johnson (Amistad)
Renegades: Born in the USA – Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen (Penguin Random House)
Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author
Just As I Am – Cicely Tyson (Amistad) (WINNER)
My Remarkable Journey – Katherine Johnson (Amistad)
Other Black Girl: A Novel – Zakiya Dalila Harris (Simon & Schuster)
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois – Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (HarperCollins Publishers)
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts – Rebecca Hall (Simon & Schuster)
Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography
Will – Will Smith (Penguin Random House) (WINNER)
Just As I Am – Cicely Tyson (Amistad)
Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement – Tarana Burke (Macmillan / Flatiron Books)
Unprotected: A Memoir – Billy Porter (Abrams Press)
Until I Am Free – Keisha Blain (Beacon Press)
Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional
Feeding the Soul (Because It’s My Business) – Tabitha Brown (HarperCollins Publishers) (WINNER)
Diversity Is Not Enough: A Roadmap to Recruit, Develop and Promote Black Leaders in America – Keith Wyche (Kandelle Publishing)
Permission to Dream – Chris Gardner (Amistad)
Teaching Black History to White People – Leonard N. Moore (University of Texas Press)
The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth About Racism Can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations – Robert Livingston (Penguin Random House)
Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry
Perfect Black – Crystal Wilkinson (University Press of Kentucky) (WINNER)
Playlist for the Apocalypse – Rita Dove (W. W. Norton & Company)
Such Color: New and Selected Poems – Tracy K. Smith (Graywolf Press)
The Wild Fox of Yemen – Threa Almontaser (Graywolf Press)
What Water Knows: Poems – Jacqueline Jones LaMon (Northwestern University Press)
Outstanding Literary Work – Children
Stacey’s Extraordinary Words – Stacey Abrams, Kitt Thomas (HarperCollins) (WINNER)
Black Ballerinas: My Journey to Our Legacy – Misty Copeland (Aladdin)
Change Sings – Amanda Gorman, Loren Long (Penguin Young Readers)
Time for Bed, Old House – Janet Costa Bates, A.G. Ford (Candlewick Press)
When Langston Dances – Kaija Langley, Keith Mallett (S&S Books for Young Readers)
Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens
Ace of Spades – Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan) (WINNER)
Happily Ever Afters – Elise Bryant (HarperCollins)
The Cost of Knowing – Brittney Morris (Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers)
When You Look Like Us – Pamela N. Harris (HarperCollins)
Wings of Ebony – J. Elle (S&S Books for Young Readers)
Outstanding News and Information Podcast
Blindspot: Tulsa Burning (WINNER)
#SundayCivics
After the Uprising: The Death of Danyé Dion Jones
Into America
Un(re)solved
Outstanding Lifestyle/Self-Help Podcast
Two Funny Mamas: Sherri Shepherd & Kym Whitley (WINNER)
Checking In with Michelle Williams
The Homecoming Podcast with Dr. Thema
The SonRise Project Podcast
Under Construction w/ Tamar Braxton
Outstanding Society and Culture Podcast
Jemele Hill is Unbothered (WINNER)
Beyond the Scenes – The Daily Show
Professional Troublemaker
Questlove Supreme
Super Soul Podcast
Outstanding Arts and Entertainment Podcast
Jemele Hill is Unbothered (WINNER)
Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe
Questlove Supreme
Reasonably Shady
The History of Sketch Comedy with Keegan-Michael Key
Source: Hollywood
