Many of Black Hollywood’s favorites, from Quinta Brunston to Brian Tyree Henry, will be honored at the Critics Choice Association’s 5th Annual Celebration of Black Cinema & Television.
Hosted by comedian and actor Bill Bellamy, the event will take place Dec. 5 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The event will air on KTLA in January and be shown nationwide across Nexstar stations in February to commemorate Black History Month.
The event will feature 15 categories to honor achievements in Black television and film, including Motown founder Berry Gordy receiving the Icon Award, Angela Bassett receiving the Career Achievement Award for her career, including her current role in the Black Panther franchise as Queen Ramonda, Michael B. Jordan receiving the Melvin Van Peebles Trailblazer Award his career and his upcoming directorial debut in Creed III, which he also stars in as Adonis Creed.
Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi will also receive the Groundbreaker Award for his Netflix’s television event Entergalactic, which he co-created and stars in as Jabari. P-Valley star Nicco Annan will receive the Actor Award for Television for his role as the barrier-shattering Uncle Clifford.
Elegance Bratton, Brunson, Danielle Deadwyler, Ayo Ediberi and Henry are also among the event’s recipients. Bratton, who wrote and directed The Inspection, will receive the Social Justice Award, while Brunson will accept the Actress Award for Television for creating, writing and starring in Abbott Elementary as Janine Teagues. Deadwyler will accept the Actress Award for Film for her role as Mamie Till-Mobley in Till, and Edebiri will receive the Rising Star Award for her role as Sydney on The Bear. Henry will receive the Supporting Actor Award for his role as James Aucoin in Causeway.
A second actor will also be awarded a Rising Star Award. Quincy Isaiah, who has earned the award, presented by IMDbPro, for his role as Magic Johnson in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. Jonathan Majors will accept the Actor Award for Film for his portrayal of Jesse Brown in Devotion, and Gina Prince-Bythewood has earned the Director Award for Film for her work on The Woman King. Writer/director Nikyatu Jusu will receive the Breakthrough Film Award for the film Nanny.
Rounding out the awards includes the Ensemble Award, which will be given to the cast of The Wonder Years, including Elisha “EJ” Williams, Dulé Hill, Saycon Sengbloh, Laura Kariuki, Julian Lerner, Amari O’Neil and Milan Ray.
“The Celebration of Black Cinema & Television has grown tremendously over the last five years,” said CCA CEO Joey Berlin in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be able to recognize such outstanding projects across both film and television, and to honor these incredible actors and filmmakers for their work.”
“It has truly been a year to celebrate,” said CCA Board Member and the event’s executive producer, Shawn Edwards. “The unprecedented amount of content about the Black experience on film and television made it very difficult to choose our honorees for this milestone year. And our special Icon Award honoree, Berry Gordy, pushed open a heavy door during the 70s and 80s through his Motown Productions with a string of movies and TV series that helped pave the way for future Black storytellers.”