The NAACP has revealed this year’s nominees for its annual Image Awards, celebrating the work of artists of color and those advocating for social justice through art.
On Tuesday morning, actress-singer Anika Noni Rose, actress-singer Chloe Bailey, actress Erika Alexander, actor-dancer Nicco Annan and actor-singer T.C. Carson joined forces to announce the 2021 contenders on Instagram.
Netflix leads this year’s film and TV nominations with 48 — including multiple nods for award-season heavyweights “Da 5 Bloods” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” — followed by HBO with 25. In the music categories, Beyoncé is out front with six nominations, including female artist.
The 2021 NAACP Image Awards will air March 27 at 8 p.m. Eastern on BET. Here’s the list of nominees:
Television
Comedy Series:
“#blackAF” (Netflix)
“Black-ish” (ABC)
“Grown-ish” (Freeform)
“Insecure” (HBO)
“The Last O.G.” (TBS)
Actor in a Comedy Series:
Anthony Anderson – “Black-ish” (ABC)
Cedric the Entertainer – “The Neighborhood” (CBS)
Don Cheadle – “Black Monday” (Showtime)
Idris Elba – “In the Long Run” (Starz)
Tracy Morgan – “The Last O.G.” (TBS)
Actress in a Comedy Series:
Issa Rae – “Insecure” (HBO)
Folake Olowofoyeku – “Bob Hearts Abishola” (CBS)
Regina Hall – “Black Monday” (Showtime)
Tracee Ellis Ross – “Black-ish” (ABC)
Yara Shahidi – “Grown-ish” (Freeform)
Drama Series:
“All Rise” (CBS)
“Bridgerton” (Netflix)
“Lovecraft Country” (HBO)
“Power Book II: Ghost” (Starz)
“This Is Us” (NBC)
Actor in a Drama Series:
Jonathan Majors – “Lovecraft Country” (HBO)
Keith David – “Greenleaf” (OWN)
Nicco Annan – “P-Valley” (Starz)
Regé-Jean Page – “Bridgerton” (Netflix)
Sterling K. Brown – “This Is Us” (NBC)
Actress in a Drama Series
Angela Bassett – “9-1-1” (FOX)
Brandee Evans – “P-Valley” (Starz)
Jurnee Smollett – “Lovecraft Country” (HBO)
Simone Missick – “All Rise” (CBS)
Viola Davis – “How to Get Away With Murder” (ABC)
Music
New Artist:
Chika – “High Rises” (Warner Records)
Doja Cat – “Say So” (RCA Records/Kemosabe )
D Smoke – “Black Habits” (WoodWorks Records / EMPIRE)
Giveon – “When It’s All Said and Done” (Epic Records)
Skip Marley – “Higher Place” (Island Records/ Tuff Gong Records)
Male Artist:
Big Sean – “Detroit 2” (Def Jam Recordings/G.O.O.D Music)
Black Thought – “Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Able” (Republic Records)
Charlie Wilson – “All of My Love” (P Music Group/BMG)
Drake – “Laugh Now, Cry Later” (Republic Records)
John Legend – “Bigger Love” (Columbia Records)Female Artist:
Beyoncé – “Black Parade” (Columbia Record/ Parkwood)
H.E.R. – “I Can’t Breathe” (RCA Records/MBK Entertainment)
Jazmine Sullivan – “Lost One” (RCA Records)
Ledisi – “Anything For You” (Listen Back Entertainment/BMG)
Alicia Keys – “Alicia” (RCA Records)
Album:
“Alicia” – Alicia Keys (RCA Records)
“b7” – Brandy (Brand Nu/eOne)
“Bigger Love” – John Legend (Columbia Records)
“Chilombo” – Jhené Aiko (Def Jam Recordings)
“The Wild Card” – LEDISI (Listen Back Entertainment/BMG)
Film
Motion Picture:
“Bad Boys For Life” (Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Entertainment)
“Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix)”Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” (Netflix)
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix)
“One Night In Miami” (Amazon Studios)
Actor in a Motion Picture:
Anthony Mackie – “The Banker” (Apple)
Chadwick Boseman – “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix)
Delroy Lindo – “Da 5 Bloods” (Netflix)
Forest Whitaker – “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” (Netflix)
Will Smith – “Bad Boys For Life” (Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Actress in a Motion Picture:
Issa Rae – “The Photograph” (Universal Pictures)
Janelle Monáe – “Antebellum” (Lionsgate)
Madalen Mills – “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey” (Netflix)
Tracee Ellis Ross – “The High Note” (Focus Features)
Viola Davis – “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (Netflix)
Literature
Literary Work – Fiction:
“Black Bottom Saints” – Alice Randall (HarperCollins Publishers)
“Lakewood” – Megan Giddings (HarperCollins Publishers)
“Riot Baby” – Tochi Onyebuchi (TorDotCom Publishing, imprint of Tom Doherty Associates)
“The Awkward Black Man” – Walter Mosley (Grove Atlantic)
“The Vanishing Half” – Brit Bennett (Riverhead Books)
Literary Work – Nonfiction:
“A Black Women’s History of the United States” – Daina Berry (Beacon Press)
“A Promised Land” – Barack Obama (Crown)
“Driving While Black” – Gretchen Sorin (W. W. Norton & Company)
“Long Time Coming: Reckoning With Race in America” – Michael Eric Dyson (St. Martin’s Press)
“We’re Better Than This” – Elijah Cummings (HarperCollins Publishers)
