“It’s an honor to host the 54th NAACP Image Awards, especially in the year we are celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop,” said Queen Latifah in a statement. “This is a night to celebrate Black excellence and Black contribution to our industry and beyond. Celebrating one another, lifting each other up and you know we’ll have fun doing it!”

Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET, added, “Queen Latifah is one of our generation’s most influential and iconic voices. We are excited to collaborate with the groundbreaking megastar as she hosts the 54th NAACP Image Awards. As always, we look forward to partnering with NAACP to celebrate Black creativity and ingenuity for an unforgettable night of Black excellence that will inspire, entertain, and empower viewers worldwide.”

Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO, said, “This year’s NAACP Image Awards will be an amazing celebration, highlighting the major accomplishments of artists, writers, entertainers, activists and other changemakers. It will also be a night that shows how we come together as a community to make a powerful impact on amplifying our stories around the world.”

Presenters for the event include Brian White, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Damson Idris, Taye Diggs, Harold Perrineau, Issa Rae, Janelle Monáe, Janelle James, Jonathan Majors, Kerry Washington, Letitia Wright, Morris Chestnut, Ms. Pat, NAACP President Derrick Johnson, NAACP Chairman Leon W. Russell, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Terrence Howard and Zendaya.

Dr. Derrick Lee Foward, president of the NAACP’s Dayton Unit and vice president of the Ohio NAACP, will also receive the Activist of the Year Award.

U.S. Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) will receive the prestigious Chairman’s Award, civil rights lawyer Benjamin Crump will receive the Social Justice Impact Award and Gabrielle Union-Wade and Dwyane Wade will receive the President’s Award.