Michael B. Jordan wins Entertainer of the Year at NAACP Image Awards

LOS ANGELES – American actor Michael B. Jordan was named Entertainer of the Year at the 57th NAACP Image Awards, winning for his dual role as twin brothers Smoke and Stack in the blues-soaked vampire tale Sinners.

Hosted by American comedian Deon Cole, the ceremony on Feb 28 celebrated some of the biggest names in black entertainment.

Jordan, 39, thanked his father – who was absent from the event – for grounding him in black history and giving him the confidence to know exactly who he is.

The Oscar nominee also won Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, dedicating the honour to his late Black Panther (2018) co-star Chadwick Boseman. Before that, Sinners secured Outstanding Motion Picture, cementing a major night for the film, which was directed by American film-maker Ryan Coogler.

Jordan found his big break in Hollywood in 2002 playing a troubled youth named Wallace in the first season of the HBO crime drama series The Wire.

From there, his career evolved with roles in the NBC sports drama series Friday Night Lights (2006 to 2011) and the HBO film Fahrenheit 451 (2018).

His first collaborative film with Coogler was Fruitvale Station (2013), and continued with the movies Creed (2015), Black Panther and, most recently, Sinners.

Coogler’s Sinners, a celebration of blues music and black culture in the segregation-era Southern United States, has become a breakout phenomenon, shattering records with 16 Oscar nominations and more than US$368 million (S$466 million) at the global box office.

Premier celebration of black artistes

The Image Awards, presented by the 117-year-old National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, remains the premier celebration of black artistes and storytellers in Hollywood.

One of the evening’s highlights was when Coogler and British-American actor Delroy Lindo addressed the incident at last week’s BAFTA awards, when a guest with Tourette’s syndrome shouted the N-word as Lindo and Jordan presented an award.

“We appreciate all the support and love that we have been shown,” Lindo, who also starred in Sinners, said, calling it “a classic case of something that could be very negative becoming very positive”.

American hip-hop group Salt-N-Pepa – comprising Cheryl “Salt” James, Sandra “Pepa” Denton and DJ Spinderella – electrified the crowd as they were inducted into the NAACP Hall of Fame.

“We didn’t know we were building a movement,” Spinderella, 55, told the audience. “But looking back, we changed what women in hip-hop were allowed to be.”

Their induction places them among icons such as American talk show host Oprah Winfrey, singer Stevie Wonder, late singer Aretha Franklin and the band Earth, Wind & Fire.

American actress Viola Davis, honoured with the Chairman’s Award, delivered one of the night’s most resonant speeches.

“I’m still learning how to step into the feeling that I deserve moments like this,” said Davis, who has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award.

The 60-year-old reflected on growing up “a little chocolate girl with thick lips and a wide nose” in 1965 Rhode Island – and how chasing success once felt synonymous with chasing significance.

“That is a hero’s journey,” she said.

Davis used her platform to call for unity and collective remembrance.

“There is no soul of a nation without the soul of its people,” she said. “Not just those breathing in this room, but also those who are no longer here.”

“We move forward together, or not at all,” she added.

American actor Colman Domingo, recipient of the President’s Award, said he abandoned four prepared speeches to speak spontaneously from the heart.

The 56-year-old credited his stepfather for teaching him to think deeply, act with purpose and aspire to do good.

“I carry that message with me in every man I portray,” the Euphoria (2019 to present) star said. “I want to make sure they look just like us – in all of our complexity.” REUTERS