Something spiritual happens when Black people gather, even when faced with the unbearable and unthinkable. That moment found its way to Hollywood when the best of the best descended upon the SLS Hotel Beverly Hills for the 2025 American Black Film Festival (ABFF) Honors.
It was a star-studded night with many of Black Hollywood’s illustrious figures, including this year’s honorees: Keke Palmer, Aaron Pierre, Giancarlo Esposito, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Marla Gibbs.
In its seventh installment, ABFF Honors’ commitment to uplifting our community shined brighter than ever, kicking off the night with a rendition of Donald Lawrence and The Tri-City Singers’ “The Best Is Yet to Come” led by Pasadena’s Victoria Bible Church Choir. The moment was used to acknowledge the residents in Altadena, California, the historically Black neighborhood significantly impacted by January’s Eaton Fire.
With everyone on their feet singing along to the timely gospel track, the tone for the night was quickly set — an occasion to celebrate and honor Black people’s continued efforts to hold on to whatever beacon of light they can in a world designed to diminish them.
Before hopping into the accomplishments of the ABFF Honors award recipients, Nice Crowd’s Nicole Friday took the stage to acknowledge the continued partnership between ABFF and Ally as the presenting sponsor of the 2025 American Black Film Festival set to take place June 11-15. She also teased individual citywide events that will make their way to places like Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., for those who can’t make it to Miami, the flagship city of the annual festival that will celebrate its 29th installment this year.
Friday also introduced comedian and host Zainab Johnson, who flexed her comedic wits while warming the crowd up for a night to remember.
Meet the 2025 ABFF Honors honorees
The first honor of the night was presented to renowned actor Giancarlo Esposito, known to many for his role as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad but beloved by the culture for his famous “How come you ain’t got no brothers up on the wall?” line delivered as the character Buggin’ Out in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing.
Anthony Mackie, his Captain America: Brave New World co-star, extended Esposito’s Excellence in the Arts Award and used the opportunity to reflect on the full-circle moment that culminated in their work in the recent Marvel film.
Mackie recalled being a young, hungry actor from New Orleans trying to navigate the Big Apple when he approached Esposito for advice. The advice was simple: “Let the work speak for itself.” Together, they now have the No. 1 movie in America.
Next to the podium was Regina King, who was there to present the Hollywood Legacy Award to her television-mom-turned-second mother, Marla Gibbs. King paid tribute to Gibbs’ many accomplishments, including her work onscreen as the boss in her legendary role as Florence Johnson in the hit sitcom The Jeffersons. She noted she was also a “true boss” through several endeavors, such as Marla’s Memory Lane jazz club, restaurant and the Vision Theater Complex in Los Angeles.
When Gibbs took the stage to receive her honor, everyone stood up to applaud the 93-year-old who moved King to tears acknowledging their relationship and left the crowd in awe when she excitedly expressed that she was open to work, instructing anyone with a part for her to contact her agent who was in attendance.
Aaron Pierre stole the night when he recreated his viral The Jennifer Hudson Show tunnel moment to the “Aaron Pierre, that’s Mufasa” sound that echoed from the speakers as he took the stage to receive the Rising Star Award from last year’s recipient and his Mufasa and National Geographic’s Genius: MLK/X co-star Kelvin Harrison Jr.
Before departing the stage, Pierre proclaimed that he was accepting the honor on behalf of his late grandmother, whom he credited for a lot of his success, even being silenced by tears as someone in the crowd yelled, “Take your time,” a phrase commonly used in the Black church when folks are overcome with emotion before taking the mic to sing or present.
As the ABFF Renaissance Award recipient, Keke Palmer was recognized for her trailblazing efforts. She has navigated stardom and perfected her craft since the tender age of 12. Palmer acknowledged the power of community, which has always been her driving force and helped her withstand the ups and downs of being in the business.
“I owe it all to my community,” she said, acknowledging the power of her collective circle and recalling how its support helped make Akeelah and the Bee a classic when critics dubbed it a flop. She also looked ahead to the future, excitedly proclaiming that her latest film, One of Them Days, made it to No. 1, thanks again to the support of her people and calling on the support of investors to help fund projects led by entities like her Key TV Network, committed to driving our narratives forward.
Pushing the needle forward
The night’s final award went to Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, presented by her Origin and When They See Us collaborator, Ava DuVernay, who spoke to her being a force in the industry.
Ellis-Taylor ran to the stage to accept the honor, but not before warmly embracing DuVernay. She acknowledged, “Keke Palmer made me famous,” noting that she’s still chasing the feeling she got in her portrayal of Ann Pettway in Abducted: The Carlina White Story.
While accepting her award, Ellis-Taylor made it clear that the moment was not simply about her, taking a moment to give a unique nod to each of her fellow honorees before leaving the audience with a charged statement to affirm Black artists’ contributions to Hollywood and beyond: “How can you accept someone into something that they made?”
She also reminded Black Hollywood to require much more than a seat at the table and to demand the structure where the table resides instead.
“This is why these messages of ‘another seat at the table’ — it’s deaf to me. I don’t want to hear that,” Ellis-Taylor remarked. “I’m not interested at no seat at no table. I don’t want the seat or the table. I want the structure. I want the land that the structure is on. Why? Because it’s mine.”
