The NAACP Image Awards And Hollywood Bureau Are Bridging The Gap

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Hollywood Bureau have expressed their intent to expand internationally and bridge the gap in quest to celebrate Black excellence.

In their quest to celebrate international excellence in film, television, music and more, a private meet and greet with press from across the African Diaspora were held on the 15th of February 2023 hosted by the current Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of the NAACP, Aba G. Blankson to deliberate on the 54th NAACP Image Awards.

Present and part of the panellists were the president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, the Senior Vice President of the Hollywood Bureau, Kyle Bowser and special guest and Ace Ghanaian actor Chris Attoh.

Chairman Kyle Bowser

In a brief address to conveners describing the culture as not just Black culture but a global one, Chairman Kyle Bowser hinted at the importance of this initiative and its influence on how stories are told and who gets to tell them.

He stated that the Bureau has been involved in working with all stakeholders from artists, actors and directors to the consumers in an effort to impact them positively – one of the ultimate goals of the Image Awards celebration of excellence.

President Derrick Johnson

According to President Johnson, in addition to the several categories of the Image Awards, the inclusion of some honorary award categories like the President and the Chairman’s awards are aimed towards recognizing individuals who have made outstanding contributions over the years from sports to politics and individual community activism while displaying black excellence, defining the culture on a global scale.

Chris Attoh

Adding on to President Johnson’s call for a global level of thinking rid of myopic tendencies, Chairman Bowser touched on the importance of seeing the awards as an international franchise pointing to the conference as one of the means of figuring it out.

Ace Ghanaian actor and special guest of the event also shared a few sentiments on the need for a fusion like is currently happening in the music world although in some capacity, similar is taking place within the film world.

However, he pointed out the need to find out creative ways to do more of that like the NAACP does with the Image Awards and rewarding Black Excellence.