An
NAACP Image Award is an accolade presented by the American
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding
people of color in
film,
television,
music, and
literature.
Similar to other awards, like the
Oscars and the
Grammys, the 35 categories of the Image Awards are voted on by the award organization's members (that is, NAACP members). Honorary awards (similar to the
Academy Honorary Award) have also been included, such as the President's Award, the Chairman's Award, Entertainer of the Year and The Image Award Hall of Fame.
The
award ceremony was first presented in 1967 and was first nationally televised in 1994 on the
Fox Network. The first
live broadcast of the event, also on the Fox Network, occurred in 2007 for its 38th edition (up until 2007, the ceremony had been broadcast with
tape delay) and the annual ceremonies usually take place in or around the
Los Angeles, United States (US) area, in February or early March. The 44th edition will air on NBC.
Steve Harvey hosted the 44th annual NAACP Image Awards on February 1, 2013.