Viola Davis, Issa Rae, and Stacey Abrams were among the big winners on the final night of the 2021 NAACP Image Awards. Prizes were given out over five nights in non-televised, virtual ceremonies last week, culminating in a live show broadcast on Saturday, March 27.
Davis took home two awards: Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her titular role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for “How to Get Away with Murder.” She is up for an Oscar for the former and has previously nabbed four Emmy nods and one win for the latter.
Rae scored the Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series prize for “Insecure.” The HBO series centering on two Black women in Los Angeles will conclude with its upcoming fifth season. Rae recently inked an eight-figure overall deal with “Insecure’s” home, WarnerMedia, where she has several projects in development.
Michelle Obama presented politician and voter rights advocate Stacey Abrams with the inaugural Social Justice Impact honor.
In 2018, Abrams became the United States’ first Black female gubernatorial nominee for a major party when she ran for governor of Georgia. She experienced firsthand the devastating effects of voter suppression in that race. Governor Brian Kemp recently signed a bill further restricting voting rights in the state, inviting comparisons to Jim Crow laws.
Michaela Coel, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Radha Blank, and more received Image Awards earlier in the week during non-televised ceremonies. Head over to Deadline for the full list of winners.
