Image Awards: Fame Is the Benchmark

Somebody ought to boycott the NAACP.

It’s bad enough that the organization screams and shouts that Hollywood isn’t employing African Americans in film and television--going so far as to threaten boycotts against the broadcast networks. But when they have an opportunity to honor those who are working--as they purport to do with their annual Image Awards, which were handed out last week and broadcast Friday on Fox--the NAACP fails to honor the very best.

Instead of recognizing works based on their quality, the Image Awards is a popularity contest to celebrate familiar faces. The problem begins with the submission process, which even some of those working on shows find to be flawed. What it amounts to is that any Tom, Dick or Jane with $100 can submit any artist for a nomination, just as long as the nominee has released something in film, television, music or literature between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31. Those with the most submissions get on the ballot.

The votes are then cast by subscribers to the NAACP’s Crisis magazine, the readership of which, I am told by NAACP members, is primarily older women. That might explain why Della Reese has consistently won for best actress in a drama series for “Touched by an Angel” since 1994, despite the fact that this year’s nominees Nicole Ari Parker (“Soul Food”) and Lorraine Toussaint (“Any Day Now”) delivered some of the strongest dramatic performances on TV last year by an actress of any race.

Steve Harvey is also a popular repeat winner. Both the star and his series, the recently ended “The Steve Harvey Show,” beat Bernie Mac and his critically lauded Fox series, “The Bernie Mac Show,” which, by most accounts, is the hottest comedy on television.

It’s one of those things that made me go, “Hmm,” until I had a chat with Clayola Brown, Image Awards vice chairman, at a pre-awards gala. She went on and on about what a wonderful supporter Harvey is of the NAACP and how much they love the guy. Ah, I see now. He’s the favorite son.

But I still find myself scratching my head about Isaac Hayes, who three years ago was nominated as best supporting actor in a comedy series for his voice-over as Chef in Comedy Central’s irreverent cartoon “South Park.”

Never mind that he was competing against live-action actors, but here’s a one-dimensional character, whose sole motivation in any given episode is to feed little white children during the day and get women in the sack at night. Aren’t these the kinds of buffoonish images of African Americans that the NAACP ridiculed the networks for in “Beulah” and “Amos N’ Andy” in the 1940s?

Certainly one can applaud Denzel Washington’s deserving best actor win for “Training Day,” for which he’s also an Oscar nominee. (Had he lost to “Baby Boy’s” singer-turned-actor Tyrese, any sane person in Hollywood would have grabbed a picket sign.)

Halle Berry received a best actress Image Award for her less-than-impressive role in “Swordfish,” which essentially was more a supporting part than the lead. Then again, every actress listed in that category has supporting parts, with the exception of Vivica A. Fox for “Two Can Play That Game.” Berry, however, also gave a noteworthy, Oscar-nominated lead performance in “Monster’s Ball.” Guess the Crisis voters missed the screening.

I’ll confess, I’ve been suspect of these awards for a long time, going back to the day when teenage WB stars Tia and Tamera Mowry were nominated, and won, for best actress in a comedy series. Yes, they’re twins, and they play twins on TV. But they’re also two individual people and should be nominated and awarded individually.

It also doesn’t help matters much when true actors are overshadowed by high-profile personalities. Last year, for example, Rosa Parks won best supporting actress in a drama for her guest appearance on, you guessed it, “Touched by an Angel.”

The NAACP should honor Parks, and has honored this civil rights legend, for her activism. But to award her outstanding supporting actress? Give me a break.

This year’s Parks was Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds. An actor he is not, even by his own account, but the singer-producer still managed to make the ballot for best supporting actor because of a guest appearance on “Soul Food,” which he produces with his wife, Tracey Edmonds.

Moreover, like the Golden Globes (and unlike the Emmys), one-time-only TV performers are lumped into the same category with series regulars, which, in this case, means the nomination could have gone to “Soul Food’s” Darrin Dewitt Henson or Rockmond Dunbar, “Third Watch’s” Coby Bell or any African American actor on “Oz.” These are talented performers who toil and sweat on series, week in and week out.

Such oversights rankle some within the industry. Even “Soul Food” producer Felicia Henderson, whose show was just honored for best drama series, complained last year about losing to the NAACP’s diversity poster drama, CBS’ “City of Angels,” a program that drew mostly negative reviews and was off the air by the time of the awards ceremony.

More than a few industry folks that I’ve spoken with over the last few weeks have complained that the awards are hopelessly flawed and should be reexamined. For starters, just opening the submission process to more people working within the entertainment industry would at least provide a better, more diverse list of personalities to be recognized.

Yes, as an African American, I think it’s great to have an awards show that honors the achievements of African American talent. It would be truly great, though, if the NAACP worked harder to recognize them. If they don’t, I’ll be working on my sign for next year.

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Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn is a freelance writer in Los Angeles.