St. Louis natives Cedric The Entertainer, William Stanford Davis, and Corece “Cor.ece” Smith took home awards at the 2023 54th Annual NAACP Image Awards. The show was broadcast live on Saturday from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, Calif. Queen Latifah hosted the program, which aired on BET and on Paramount Global networks including CBS, MTV, VH1 and CMT.
Cedric won Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Calvin Butler in CBS’ The Neighborhood. He was unable to attend and his co-star Tichina Arnold accepted the award on his behalf.
“Big Shoutout to the NAACP Image Awards, I got all the messages from everyone that I won last night,” he said in an Instagram video. “This goes back to The Steve Harvey days so I got a new one coming. I couldn’t be there cause my son was directing his first play last night and I had to be there to support him.”
Abbott Elementary won Outstanding Comedy Series. William Stanford Davis joined Quinta Brunson and the rest of the cast on stage to accept the award.
“We are so grateful and so blessed to have wonderful experiences this award season, but there is nothing like winning an NAACP Award,” Brunson said. “We love y’all, we’re happy that we’re able to make this show that is accessible to everyone for and by us.”
Smith is credited as a co-writer on Beyonce ́’s “Cozy” on her Grammy-winning Renaissance album. The album was awarded an NAACP Award for Outstanding Album. Beyonce ́ also won Outstanding Female Artist, and Outstanding Soul/R&B Song for “Cuff It.”
St. Louis natives weren’t the only ones who received recognition. East St. Louis native Reginald Hudlin not only executive produced this year’s show, but he also won Outstanding Directing in a Documentary Television or Motion Picture for the the Apple TV+ project, Sidney.
Two Funny Mamas Podcast with Sherri Shepherd and Kym Whitley won Outstanding Arts and Entertainment Podcast. The podcast is under branding and production direction of St. Louis based multi-media company, Mid Coast Media.
Like Beyonce ́, Angela Bassett was the other top winner with three awards. She won Entertainer of the Year, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and outstanding actress in a drama TV series for 9-1-1 on FOX.
“Thank you to the NAACP for this award, it’s always a deep honor to receive this recognition from home, from family,” Bassett said while accepting her award for outstanding actress in a drama TV series. “I never get tired of thanking my family, Courtney B. Vance, Bronwyn and Slater, I love you!”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever won outstanding motion picture, four years ago the original Black Panther won. This is the second time in three years a franchise film has won this category.
See the full list of winners, here: https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/2023-naacp-image-awards-winners-list-angela-bassett-beyonce-1235260985/.