NAACP Image Awards Salute Host of Stars

Actor Will Smith was named Entertainer of the Year and former Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan was honored with the Jackie Robinson Sports Award at the 30th annual NAACP Image Awards Sunday evening at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

A collection of some of the most famous African Americans in the entertainment industry turned out for the star-studded gala hosted by the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, which celebrates its 90th birthday this year.

Founded in 1909 in New York City by a group of African American and white citizens committed to righting social injustice, the organization started the Image Awards to honor outstanding achievements and positive portrayals by African Americans in film, TV, music and literature. The award also was meant to encourage the entertainment industry to do a better job of creating opportunities for African Americans. The first NAACP Image Awards were presented by the Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch in the 1960s.

Besides Jordan, who announced his retirement from basketball this year, honorees included entertainer Harry Belafonte, who received the Chairman’s Award recognizing special achievement.

Opera singer Kathleen Battle and blues legend B.B. King both received the Hall of Fame Award, and Grammy-nominated singer Lauryn Hill was given the Presidential Award.

NAACP President Kweisi Mfume described Hill as “a hiphop humanitarian who has used her own success to uplift the lives of others.”

One of the evening’s highlights included a musical tribute to King by guitarists Eric Clapton and George Benson in which King picked up his guitar and joined in.

Meanwhile, across the street from the celebration, a dozen picketers led by Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope protested the Image Awards. They objected to the awards’ long relationship with Fox-TV, home to “The PJs,” a new animated satire co-created by actor-comedian Eddie Murphy.

Some have accused the show of stereotyping members of the black community with a character who is a crack addict and showing men guzzling 40-ounce bottles of beer.