Black Reel Awards Honorees Include Samuel L. Jackson, Colman Domingo, Shonda Rhimes And Ruth E. Carter

The 24th annual Black Reel Awards have set this year’s list of honorees for special recognition.

For a third year in a row, the Black Reel Awards will fete a slate of special honorees, awarding the Oscar Micheaux Memorial, Sidney Poitier Trailblazer, Ruby Dee Humanitarian and its Vanguard Award among others. The latter will now be known as the Chadwick Boseman Vanguard Award to honor both the recipient and memory of the prolific Boseman, who died of cancer in 2020 at age 43.

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The first Chadwick Boseman Vanguard Award recipient is Colman Domingo, who this year can be seen portraying civil rights leader Bayard Rustin in the Netflix film Rustin and as Mister in the movie musical The Color Purple.

The Black Reel awards committee also this year created the Diahann Carroll Icon Award to recognize outstanding work in television, and will give the inaugural Diahann Carroll Executive Award to Shonda Rhimes. The producer, author and screenwriter is known for her run of successful series including Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Station 19, Bridgerton and more.

The Oscar Micheaux Memorial Award, which recognizes the work of an industry executive, will be awarded this year to costume designer Ruth E. Carter, the only African-American woman to win multiple Oscars. Her credits include Spike Lee projects School Daze, Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X and with Marvel and Ryan Coogler in both of the Black Panther movies.

The Sidney Poitier Trailblazer Award, which recognizes the work of an outstanding actor, will be awarded to Samuel L. Jackson. The Ruby Dee Humanitarian award will be presented to Abbott Elementary star and activist Sheryl Lee Ralph.

“I am pleased to salute the lifelong accomplishments of our 2024 honorees,” Black Reel Awards founder and CEO Tim Gordon said today. “However, I am most proud that our organization has taken the opportunity to honor the legacy left behind by a talent that seemed to be overlooked by others, Chadwick Boseman. The inclusion of his name along with the introduction of the Diahann Carroll award gives me great joy.”

The 24th Annual Black Reel Awards will be broadcast on January 16, 2024.

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