NAACP Theatre Award – Trailblazer Award
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NAACP Theatre Award – Trailblazer Award
The NAACP Trailblazer Award is presented to a pioneering individual whose theatrical contributions made an outstanding and unique mark in the entertainment industry, therefore, paving the way for others to follow . It is presented part of the NAACP Theatre Awards which commenced in 1991 and presented annually by the Beverly Hills-Hollywood branch of the NAACP to honor outstanding people of color in theatre, following the presentation ceremonies of the NAACP Image Awards. References External linksNAACP Theatre Awards African-American theatre NAACP Theatre Awards Awards established in 1991 1991 establishments in the United States {{award-stub ...
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Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and the third-most populous state capital. Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area, which encompasses 10 counties in central Ohio. The metropolitan area had a population of 2,138,926 in 2020, making it the largest entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest in the U.S. Columbus originated as numerous Native American settlements on the banks of the Scioto River. Franklinton, now a city neighborhood, was the first European settlement, laid out in 1797. The city was founded in 1812 at the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, and laid out to become the state capital. The city was named for Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. ...
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Kenny Leon
Kenny Leon is an American director, producer, actor, and author, notable for his work on Broadway, on television, and in regional theater. In 2014, he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for ''A Raisin in the Sun''. Career He gained prominence in 1990, when he became one of the few African Americans to head a notable nonprofit theater company as the artistic director of Atlanta's Alliance Theatre Company. During Leon's tenure, the company staged premieres of Pearl Cleage's ''Blues for an Alabama Sky'', Alfred Uhry's ''The Last Night of Ballyhoo'', and Elton John and Tim Rice's musical ''Aida'', which went on to Broadway. The Alliance's endowment also rose from $1 to $5 million during his time there. Leon resigned from the Alliance in 2000 to take on other projects. These included being the co-founder and artistic director of True Colors Theatre Company, a group based in both Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He also took his talents to Broadway. In the spring of 20 ...
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African-American Theatre
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of Slavery in the United States, enslaved Africans who are from the United States. While some Black immigrants or their children may also come to identify as African-American, the majority of first generation immigrants do not, preferring to identify with their nation of origin. African Americans constitute the second largest racial group in the U.S. after White Americans, as well as the third largest ethnic group after Hispanic and Latino Americans. Most African Americans are descendants of enslaved people within the boundaries of the present United States. On average, African Americans are of West Africa, West/Central Africa, Central African with some European descent; some also have Native Americans in th ...
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Nicco Annan
Nicco Annan is an American actor, dancer, and choreographer. He is best known for his portrayal of Uncle Clifford on the Starz drama series ''P-Valley'', an adaptation of the Katori Hall play ''Pussy Valley'', in which Annan originated the role. Early life and education Annan was raised in the North End area of Detroit, Michigan. His mother is African American and was raised in the Southern United States, south, and his father is Ghanaian. He wanted to pursue acting from a young age and studied Improvisational theatre, improv and theater from youth. When he was 17 he joined a dance troupe. Annan received his diploma from Cass Technical High School and studied theater at State University of New York at Purchase, State University of New York-Purchase, where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Career After college, Annan was hired as the choreographer in residence at the Yale School of Drama. He also performed in theater productions on and off-Broadway. He moved to Los ...
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Viola Davis
Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. She is also tied for the most film wins for an actress at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and with six overall wins, she is the most awarded African-American. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2017, and in 2020, ''The New York Times'' ranked her ninth on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century. Davis began her career in Central Falls, Rhode Island, appearing in small stage productions. After graduating from the Juilliard School in 1993, she won an Obie Award in 1999 for her performance as Ruby McCollum in ''Everybody's Ruby''. She played minor roles in several films and television series in the late 1990s and early 2000s, before earning the Tony Award for ...
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Anika Noni Rose
Anika Noni Rose (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for voicing Tiana, Disney's first African-American princess, as seen in ''The Princess and the Frog'' (2009). She was named a Disney Legend in 2011. She is also known for her starring role as Lorrell Robinson in the Academy Award-winning film ''Dreamgirls'' (2006) and for playing LaVerne "Jukebox" Ganner in the Starz series ''Power''. She is also known for her performances in theatre, particularly for her starring roles as Emmie Thibodeaux in the Broadway production of ''Caroline, or Change'' (2004), for which she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, and Beneatha Younger in the Broadway revival of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (2014), for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Early life Rose was born in Bloomfield, Connecticut, to Claudia and John Rose, a corporate counsel. She began her acting career in Bloomfield high school, ...
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LaTanya Richardson Jackson
LaTanya Richardson Jackson ( Richardson; born October 21, 1949) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in off-Broadway productions, before playing supporting roles on television and film. Richardson has appeared in films including ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' (1991), ''Malcolm X'' (1992), ''Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994), ''Losing Isaiah'' (1995), '' Lone Star'' (1996), ''U.S. Marshals'' (1998), and ''The Fighting Temptations'' (2003). Her television credits include ''100 Centre Street'' (2001–2002), ''Show Me a Hero'' (2015), ''Luke Cage'' (2016–2018), and ''Rebel'' (2017). Personal life She was born in Atlanta, Georgia. While attending Atlanta's historically black, all-female Spelman College in 1970, she met actor Samuel L. Jackson, then a student at historically black, all-male Morehouse College. She and Jackson married in 1980. As of 2020, they have been together 50 years, according to Samuel's tribute post on Instagram. ...
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Roger Guenveur Smith
Roger Guenveur Smith (born July 27, 1955) is an American actor, director, and writer best known for his collaborations with Spike Lee. Early life Smith was born on July 27, 1955 in Berkeley, California, the son of Helen Guenveur, a dentist, and Sherman Smith, a judge. He attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles,and graduated from Occidental College (American Studies) in Los Angeles. He then studied at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he successfully auditioned for the Drama School and switched his pursuit of a graduate degree in history. Additionally, Smith studied at the Keskidee Arts Centre in London, England. Career In film, Smith has collaborated with Spike Lee on several works. He has appeared in films such as ''School Daze'', ''Do the Right Thing'', ''King of New York'', ''Panther,'' ''Malcolm X'', ''Poetic Justice'', ''Get On The Bus'', ''Eve's Bayou'', ''He Got Game'', and ''Summer of Sam''. During the 1990s, he had a recurring role on '' A  ...
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Vanessa Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigned her title amid a media controversy surrounding nude photographs of her being published on ''Penthouse'' magazine. Thirty-two years later, Williams was offered a public apology during the Miss America 2016 pageant for the events. Williams rebounded from the scandal with a successful career as a singer and actress. In 1988, she released her debut studio album ''The Right Stuff (album), The Right Stuff'', whose The Right Stuff (Vanessa Williams song), title single saw moderate success as well as "Dreamin' (Vanessa Williams song), Dreamin' which peaked at number 8 in the United States in 1989. With her second and third studio albums, ''The Comfort Zone (album), The Comfort Zone'' (1991) and ''The Sweetest Days'' (1994), she saw continued com ...
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Obba Babatundé
Obba Babatundé (born Donald Cohen; December 1, 1951) is an American actor. A native of Queens, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time series. Early life and education Babatundé was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. As a child, he attended public schools. He was attracted early to theater and from a young age would sing, dance and act for his family. He attended Jamaica High School where he was a well-rounded student who, in addition to appearing in the Sing '68 school musical program, was a student aide and a member of both the track and cross country teams. After graduating from Jamaica High School in 1969, he started teaching at a private school for students of color. He also pursued acting jobs in New York, gaining some roles Off-Off-Broadway. Learning that his ancestry included people from Nigeria, he adopted a name made of Yoruba words: ''Obba'', for "king ...
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Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four acting categories.Best Actress in a Play, Best Actress in a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Play, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She has performed in musicals, operas, and dramas such as ''A Moon for the Misbegotten'', ''110 in the Shade'', '' Carousel'', ''Ragtime'', ''Master Class'', and ''Porgy and Bess''. As a classical soprano, she has performed in staged operas with the Houston Grand Opera and the Los Angeles Opera and in concerts with symphony orchestras like the Berlin Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic. In 2008, her recording of Kurt Weill's ''Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny'' with the Los Angeles Opera won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Album and the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording. She has a c ...
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NAACP Theatre Awards
The NAACP Theatre Awards are a NAACP member voted awards started in 1991 and presented annually by the Beverly Hills-Hollywood branch of the NAACP to honor outstanding people of color in theater. The ceremonies usually take place in the Los Angeles area following the presentation ceremonies of the NAACP Image Awards. There are also honorary awards: the President's Award, the Trailblazer Award, the Spirit Award, the Community Service Award, and The Lifetime Achievement Award. Award ceremonies Award categories Equity * Best Choreography * Best Costumes * Best Director * Best Director of a Musical * Best Ensemble Cast * Best Lead Female * Best Lead Male * Best Lighting * Best Music Director * Best Playwright * Best Producer * Best Set Design * Best Sound * Best Supporting Female * Best Supporting Male Local * Best Choreography * Best Costumes * Best Director * Best Director of a Musical * Best Ensemble Cast * Best Lead Female * Best Lead Male * Best Lighting * ...
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