{"id":38847,"date":"2025-02-23T01:53:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-23T07:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=38847"},"modified":"2025-02-23T03:31:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T09:31:15","slug":"kamala-harris-receives-prestigious-chairmans-prize-at-naacp-image-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=38847","title":{"rendered":"Kamala Harris receives prestigious Chairman’s prize at NAACP Image Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LOS ANGELES — Former Vice President Kamala Harris<\/a> stepped on the NAACP Image Awards<\/a> stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile we have no illusions about what we are up against in this chapter in our American story, this chapter will be written not simply by whoever occupies the oval office nor by the wealthiest among us,\u201d Harris said after receiving the NAACP\u2019s Chairman’s Award. \u201cThe American story will be written by you. Written by us. By we the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 56th annual Image Awards was held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in the Los Angeles area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris, defeated by Trump in last year\u2019s presidential election, was the first woman and the first person of color to serve as vice president. She had previously been a U.S. senator from California and the state\u2019s attorney general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her first major public appearance since leaving office, Harris did not reference her election loss or Trump\u2019s actions since entering the Oval Office, although Trump mocked her earlier in the day at the Conservative Political Action Conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris spoke about eternal vigilance, the price of liberty, staying alert, seeking the truth and America\u2019s future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome see the flames on our horizons, the rising waters in our cities, the shadows gathering over our democracy and ask \u2018What do we do now?\u2019\u201d Harris said. \u201cBut we know exactly what to do, because we have done it before. And we will do it again. We use our power. We organize, mobilize. We educate. We advocate. Our power has never come from having an easy path.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other winners of the Chairman\u2019s prize have included former President Barack Obama<\/a>, the late Rep. John Lewis<\/a> and the late actor Ruby Dee<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris<\/a> was honored during the ceremony along with the Wayans family<\/a>. The family was inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame in recognition of pioneering contributions to film, TV, sketch and stand-up comedy that have shaped Hollywood for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans<\/a> Sr., Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Kim Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. each were recognized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marlon Wayans, whose guest appearance on Peacock\u2019s \u201cBel-Air\u201d was up for an NAACP award, shared how Keenen Ivory Wayans sparked the family\u2019s rise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe raised us all like Jedis,\u201d he said. \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t be here if it wasn\u2019t for our big brother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marlon Wayans joked that when his brother told their mom he was leaving college for comedy, she said, \u201dBoy, I\u2019ve known you your whole life, and you ain\u2019t never said nothing funny. That\u2019s the funniest thing you\u2019ve said.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crowd erupted in laughter, a fitting tribute to a family that has kept audiences laughing for more than three decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The family has a long list of credits. Keenen Ivory Wayans created the sketch comedy series \u201cIn Living Color\u201d in 1990 and directed the 2000 slasher spoof \u201cScary Movie,\u201d which was written by Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans, who also wrote and starred in \u201cWhite Chicks\u201d in 2004. Damon Wayan’s had a starring role in the 1995 comedy \u201cMajor Payne,\u201d and currently co-stars with son Damon Wayans Jr. in the CBS sitcom \u201cPoppa\u2019s House,” which was nominated for an NAACP Award. The pair also were nominated for their acting on the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Damon Wayans Jr. has acted in two of the most critically acclaimed comedies in recent years: \u201cHappy Endings\u201d and \u201cNew Girl.\u201d Kim Wayans, a comedian, actor and director, also received praise for her work in the 2011 drama \u201cPariah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keke Palmer expressed her surprise after her name was called as winner of the coveted entertainment of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh my gosh. Guys, I didn\u2019t think I was going to win,\u201d said Palmer, who paid homage to fellow nominee Cynthia Erivo\u2019s Oscar-nominated performance in \u201cWicked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palmer starred in the buddy comedy \u201cOne of Them Days,\u201d which debuted No. 1 at the box office last month. She also won an Emmy for her hosting efforts on NBC\u2019s \u201cPassword.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such an amazing category to be in with all these people,\u201d Palmer said. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful night. It\u2019s Black History Month, y\u2019all. It\u2019s so important we all come here together and celebrate one another with one another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other nominees included Kendrick Lamar, Kevin Hart and Shannon Sharpe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Image Awards host Deon Cole honored residents of the nearby Altadena neighborhood who were affected by January\u2019s devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A video of the fire devastation played before actor Morris Chestnut took the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHomes were lost, stores destroyed, countless lives shattered and over two dozens souls gone forever,\u201d said Chestnut, a Los Angeles native who referenced impacted areas such as Altadena, the Pacific Palisades and Malibu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut what was not lost is the spirit of our community,\u201d said Chestnut, who noted 22 Altadena residents attended the show on Saturday. Many in the audience stood and applauded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cole shifted tone and brightened the mood with a comedic prayer for Kanye West\u2019s wife to find more clothes after her barely-there Grammys look and for Shannon Sharpe to finally size up his T-shirts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opening act was a lead-up to the evening\u2019s first award: Queen Latifah as best actress in a drama series for her role in \u201cThe Equalizer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dave Chappelle was honored with the President’s Award for his \u201cthought-provoking humor.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accepting the award, Chappelle talked about the NAACP’s push against negative portrayals of Black people in media and the importance of representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery opportunity we get, we just keep chipping away at this monster of a machine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Past recipients of the President’s Award include Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, Usher, Rihanna and John Legend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

abcnews<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES — Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped on the NAACP Image Awards stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump. \u201cWhile we have no illusions about what we are up against […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":38848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1154],"tags":[2302,2301,7186],"class_list":["post-38847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trending","tag-harris","tag-kamala","tag-naacp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=38847"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38849,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38847\/revisions\/38849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/38848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=38847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=38847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=38847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}