The NAACP Image Awards Gave The Sinners’ Cast The Love — & Safe Space — They Deserve

The 57th NAACP Image Awards felt like a long-overdue exhale after months of suffocating. On February 28, Black Hollywood and viewers alike found a soft place to land in the midst of the world’s chaos as they experienced a night of celebration and love for the art that is for us, by us. The cast of “Sinners,” Viola Davis and Colman Domingo were among those who won big during Saturday’s ceremony.

The NAACP Image Awards live broadcast, which took place at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium near Los Angeles, always feels special. It’s an evening that highlights the year’s best in film, television, music, literature, and more, honoring Black audiences in a way that most award shows refuse to time and time again. But this year felt especially necessary.

Since last year, Black audiences have been blatantly neglected and disrespected. We watched as the same corporations that made pledges and promises in the name of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the aftermath of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor’s deaths in 2020 disavow any commitment to us. We’ve lived through the Trump administration doing its damndest to erasure our history and impose threatening policy on a regular basis. We’ve seen our favorite Black shows canceled as streaming has become whiter in comparison to previous years. And from Variety’s grossly biased headline to the BAFTAs and BBC’s negligent handling of a Tourette’s advocate shouting a racist slur at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, we’ve seen the brilliant folks behind arguably the best film of 2025 get disrespected during a moment they’re supposed to be celebrated.

Given all of that, the Image Awards felt like a medicinal escape and a joyful protest at the same time. 

Host Deon Cole opened the program with a declaration that was censored from the telecast: “F–-k ICE!” Cole, Regina Hall and others addressed the BAFTA controversy head-on, showing love to Jordan, Lindo and the entire cast of “Sinners.”

When director Ryan Coogler and Lindo hit the stage to present the award for Outstanding Actress, which went to Cynthia Erivo, they were met with a standing ovation.

“In the aftermath of what happened last weekend, it means a lot to us,” Lindo said. “It is a[n] honor to be here… among so many people who have shown us such incredible support. And it’s a classic case of something that could be very negative becoming very positive.”

Coogler emphasized the significance of the evening, contrasting it to what the cast had just endured at the BAFTAs a week prior. “It’s something powerful about standing in this room tonight,” he said. “A room where we don’t have to explain ourselves, where our stories aren’t footnotes, they’re the main text.” 

“Sinners” actress Wunmi Mosaku echoed Coogler’s sentiment in an interview with Unbothered the following day at SAG’s Actors Awards, where the film celebrated another night of big wins. “Being at the NAACP Awards… it was a really healing space. And I’m really glad that that’s the first place I went after last weekend,” she said with relief in her voice. “That was necessary.”

Mosaku continued, “I was just thinking about it this morning, would I have been able to walk into this room with such joy in my heart and peace in this moment if I hadn’t been in those spaces Thursday and Saturday night? I don’t think I would’ve.”

The evening was full of highlights that underscored the power of being truly seen. Salt-N-Pepa received their flowers as they were inducted into the NAACP Hall of Fame for paving the way for today’s hip-hop. Domingo spoke of his mission to pour humanity into the Black characters he portrays when he accepted the President’s Award. Davis gave an electric speech about her journey from a “little chocolate girl” growing up in Rhode Island to becoming her own hero as she accepted the esteemed Chairman’s Award.

“There is no soul of a nation without the soul of its people and the soul of its people is not just represented in the breathing and alive people in this room, but by all those who are no longer here,” she said. “We either move forward together or not at all.”

The crowd roared as she dropped the most memorable line of the night: “Our crown has already been bought and paid for. All we have to do is wear it.”

The NAACP Image Awards and award shows that specifically center Black and multicultural talent do the significant service of giving credit where it’s due. They offer a space for empowerment, growth, and joy while simultaneously charging other academies to do better. They’re the first places that celebrate us and they do it consistently.

Jordan’s career is a testament to that. On Saturday, he won Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture and Entertainer of the Year, the former of which he dedicated to his late “Black Panther” co-star Chadwick Boseman. In his acceptance speech, he reminisced about sneaking in the award show as a child actor.

“This is a place where I always felt encouraged,” he said. “I always felt like I was being celebrated and nourished. You guys poured into me. Even in the small successes. I felt seen here. I felt comfortable. I felt the love. That’s why I love being here… Man, I love being Black.”

Lindo, Miles Caton and Wunmi Mosaku all won big for “Sinners.” When accepting the award for Best Motion Picture, Coogler made a critical point he didn’t want the audience to forget.

“Since our people been here, four centuries, there’s always been a lot of lies told about us,” the director said. “And a lie, no matter how powerful the person saying it is, is still a lie. And the truth, no matter how little power the person has that’s saying the truth, it’s still the truth and the truth is y’all are loved. Y’all are beautiful. And y’all are powerful and mighty.”

As I think about his quote, two things ring true. There’s always discussion of whether or not award shows still matter. They do. Especially considering the access and opportunity they can offer for actors during turbulent and uncertain times. But what’s ever truer is that Black art matters. It matters because we matter and also because our art continues to set the standard of excellence whether or not the world acknowledges that. Our art is deserving of reverence regardless. And if no one else properly celebrates us, we know we will.

Let the NAACP Image Awards be a reminder to us all to wear our crowns even in the midst of darkness.

Here’s a full list of the winners for the 57th NAACP Image Awards live broadcast:

President's Award
Colman Domingo

Chairman's Award
Viola Davis

Hall of Fame Award
Salt-N-Pepa and DJ Spinderella

Entertainer of the Year
Michael B. Jordan

Outstanding Motion Picture
“Sinners” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Outstanding Actor in Motion Picture
Michael B. Jordan - “Sinners” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture
Miles Caton - “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Angela Bassett - “9-1-1” (ABC)

Outstanding Actress  in a Comedy Series
Quinta Brunson - “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown - “Paradise” (ABC)

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Cynthia Erivo - “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures)