The NAACP announced today that NBA superstar LeBron James will receive the prestigious President’s Award during the 52nd NAACP Image Awards.“LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes of his generation, and through his work both on and off the court, has transcended beyond sports to become a cultural icon,” said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, who will present the award to LeBron James during the LIVE TV special. “This is nowhere more evident than over the past year, where LeBron has used his platform to speak out on issues that were directly affecting the Black community including voting initiatives, police brutality, and racial inequality. LeBron epitomizes the type of leadership, sportsmanship, and commitment to social justice that we seek to highlight with our President’s Award.”
The LIVE broadcast of the 52nd NAACP Image Awards will feature performances from Image Award Outstanding Female Artist nominee Jazmine Sullivan who will perform--along with Grammy Award-winning singer Maxwell, who will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his debut album Urban Hang Suite. Throughout the evening there will be appearances from Alicia Keys, Andra Day, Arsenio Hall, Cynthia Erivo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Michelle Obama, Misty Copeland, Regina King, Samuel L. Jackson, the cast of Tyler Perry's Sistas, Swizz Beatz, and Tracy Morgan. MC Lyte will serve at the night’s Voice Over announcer.
Marking his eighth consecutive year as host, Anthony Anderson is an Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor and currently the star and Executive Producer of ABC’s multi-award winning sitcom, “black-ish.” He also holds the record for the most wins in the NAACP Image Award category of Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series with six wins. The President’s Award is presented in recognition of special achievement and distinguished public service, with previous recipients including Rihanna, Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, Jesse Jackson, Lauryn Hill, Soledad O’Brien, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and Muhammad Ali, among others. This year’s two-hour LIVE TV special, which will air on BET, Saturday, March 27th at 8/7c, and will be simulcast across ViacomCBS networks including CBS, BET Her, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Paramount, Pop, Smithsonian, TV Land, VH1, BET PLUTO, and CMT.
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