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 The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 .... References External linksNAACP Theatre Awards African-American theatre NAACP Theatre Awards Awards established in 1991 1991 establishments in the United States {{theat-award-stub ...
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Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States cities by population, 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwestern United States, Midwest (after Chicago), and the third-most populous U.S. state capital (after Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin, Texas). Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware and Fairfield County, Ohio, Fairfield counties. The Columbus metropolitan area, Ohio, Columbus metropolitan area encompasses ten counties in central Ohio and had a population of 2.14 million in 2020, making it the Ohio statistical areas, largest metropolitan area entirely in Ohio and Metropolitan statistical area, 32nd-largest metro area in the U.S. Columbus originated as several Nat ...
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Kenny Leon
Kenny Leon is an American director and actor. He is notable for his extensive work on Broadway and television as well as in regional theater. He has received a Tony Award and a Drama League Award as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Drama Desk Award. Leon won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for '' A Raisin in the Sun'' (2014). He was Tony-nominated for '' Fences'' (2010) and '' A Soldier's Play'' (2019). He has also directed notable productions of '' Radio Golf'' (2007), '' Topdog/Underdog'' (2022) and '' Purlie Victorious'' (2023). He received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for '' Hairspray Live!'' (2017), '' American Son'' (2019), and '' Robin Roberts Presents: Mahalia'' (2021). Early life and education Kenny Leon was born on February 10, 1956, in Tallahassee, Florida.
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African-American Theatre
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. African Americans constitute the second largest ethno-racial group in the U.S. after White Americans. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of Africans enslaved in the United States. In 2023, an estimated 48.3 million people self-identified as Black, making up 14.4% of the country’s population. This marks a 33% increase since 2000, when there were 36.2 million Black people living in the U.S. African-American history began in the 16th century, with Africans being sold to European slave traders and transported across the Atlantic to the Western Hemisphere. They were sold as slaves to European colonists and put to work on plantations, particularly in the southern colonies. A few were able to achieve freedom through ...
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Stokley Williams
Stokley Williams (born July 15, 1967), also known simply as Stokley, is an American musician from St. Paul, Minnesota, best known as the lead singer and studio drummer of the R&B band Mint Condition. Career In 2011, Williams was featured on Kelly Price's song "Not My Daddy" from her album '' Kelly'' which earned him his first Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance. In 2017, Williams joined The Revolution on tour, to pay tribute to Prince. Also in 2017, he released his Bluraffe/Concord Records solo debut ''Introducing Stokley'', with production by himself as well as the Philadelphia production team Carvin & Ivan. In 2019, Jam & Lewis' did a joint venture with Bluraffe ent /Perspective Records to release his second solo album, ''Sankofa''. In March 2020, Stokley earned his first number-one solo hit with "She..." reaching the top of the Adult R&B Chart (Billboard) for two consecutive weeks and high radio play on stations such as WAMO, WDAS, & WHUR. In 2024, he was c ...
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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 on the Westside of Detroit, Michigan. His mother is African American and was raised in the south, and his father is Ghanaian. He wanted to pursue acting from a young age and studied 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-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 Angeles in 2014 to pursue television acting. Annan has appeared in ''Claws'', '' Shameless'', ' ...
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Viola Davis
Viola Davis ( ; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and film producer. List of awards and nominations received by Viola Davis, Her accolades include both the Triple Crown of Acting and EGOT. ''Time (magazine), Time'' named her one of the Time 100, 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2017. ''The New York Times'' ranked her ninth on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century (2020). Davis received the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2025. A graduate of Juilliard School, Juilliard, Davis began her career in Central Falls, Rhode Island, appearing in small stage productions. She made her Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in the August Wilson play ''Seven Guitars'' (1996) for which she earned her first Tony nomination. She would later win two Tony Awards, both for Wilson plays. Her first win was for Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play, Best Featured Actress in a Play playing the character Tonya, a woman grapp ...
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Anika Noni Rose
Anika Noni Rose (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress. She is best known for voicing Tiana (The Princess and the Frog), Tiana in ''The Princess and the Frog'' (2009). She was named a Disney Legends, Disney Legend in 2011. Rose starred as Lorrell Robinson in the Academy Award-winning film ''Dreamgirls (film), Dreamgirls'' (2006). Her contribution to the film's soundtrack earned her a nomination for a Grammy Awards, Grammy Award. She is also known for her performances in theatre, particularly for starring 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 and education Rose was born in Bloomfield, Connecticut, to Claudia and John Rose, a corporate counsel. She attended Bloomfield High School, app ...
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LaTanya Richardson Jackson
LaTanya Richardson Jackson is an American actress. She began her career appearing in off-Broadway productions, before playing supporting roles on television and film. Her performances are credited to her birth name, LaTanya Richardson, from 1989 to 2013. 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). Early and personal life She was born in Atlanta, Georgia. While attending Atlanta's historically Black, all-female Spelman College in 1970, she met Samuel L. Jackson, then a student at the historically Black, all-male Morehouse College. She and Jackson married in 1980 and have one child together (b. 198 ...
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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 Roger Guenveur 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 with a degree in American Studies. 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. Career Smith 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''. Several of these films were with director Spike Lee. During the 1990s, he had a recurring ...
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Vanessa Williams
Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later Vanessa Williams and Miss America, resign her title amid a media controversy surrounding nude photographs published in ''Penthouse (magazine), Penthouse'' magazine. 32 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 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in 1989. With her second and third studio albums, ''The Comfort Zone (album), The Comfort Zone'' ...
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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 "ki ...
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Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American singer and actress. 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 Leading Actress in a Play, Best Leading Actress in a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Play, and Best Featured Actress in a Musical. As of the 78th Tony Awards, she has earned a record-breaking eleven nominations. In addition to her six Tony Awards, she has received numerous accolades including two Grammy Awards and an Emmy Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 2016 from President Barack Obama, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2017. She has performed in musicals, operas, and dramas. She has received six Tony Awards for her roles in '' Carousel'' (1994), '' Master Class'' (1996), ''Ragtime'' (1998), '' A Raisin in the Sun'' (2004), ''Porgy and Bess'' (2012), and ''L ...
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