49th NAACP Image Awards

The 49th NAACP Image Awards ceremony, presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), honored outstanding representations and achievements of people of color in motion pictures, television, music, and literature during the 2017 calendar year. The ceremony took place on January 15, 2018 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, was hosted by Anthony Anderson and broadcast on TV One.

During the ceremony american actor and film director Danny Glover was honored with the President's Award for being «a true inspiration who always uses his celebrity status to advance the cause of social justice and respect for our diverse society. [...] Glover has is known for wide-reaching community activism and philanthropic efforts with a particular emphasis on advocacy for economic justice, access to health care and education programs in the United States and Africa». William Lucy was honored with the «in recognition of his role in the labour movement and his accomplishments as a labor organizer and justice advocate. His work with Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike and the instrumental role he played in the Anti-Apartheid Movement».

The award show also honored with the Vanguard Award the surviving of 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike "I Am a Man" workers for supporting the African-American community and the workers' struggle in the Southern United States to recognise equal pay and rights for the labour force.

All nominees are listed below, and the winners are listed in bold.

Outstanding Documentary – (Film)

 * STEP
 * I Called Him Morgan
 * The Rape of Recy Taylor
 * Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities
 * Whose Streets?

Outstanding Documentary – (Television)

 * The 44th President: In His Own Words
 * Birth of a Movement
 * Black Love
 * The Defiant Ones
 * What the Health

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance – (Television or Film)

 * Tiffany Haddish – Legends of Chamberlain Heights
 * Yvette Nicole Brown – Elena of Avalor
 * Loretta Devine – Doc McStuffins
 * David Oyelowo – The Lion Guard
 * Kerry Washington – Cars 3

Outstanding New Artist

 * SZA – Ctrl
 * Demetria McKinney – Officially Yours
 * Khalid – American Teen
 * Kevin Ross – The Awakening
 * Vic Mensa – The Autobiography

Outstanding Male Artist

 * Bruno Mars – "Versace on the Floor"
 * JAY-Z – 4:44
 * Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.
 * Brian McKnight – Genesis
 * Charlie Wilson – In It to Win It

Outstanding Female Artist

 * Mary J. Blige – Strength of a Woman
 * Beyoncé – "Die with You"
 * Andra Day – "Stand Up For Something"
 * Ledisi – Let Love Rule
 * SZA – Ctrl

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration

 * Kendrick Lamar feat. Rihanna – "LOYALTY."
 * Mary J. Blige feat. Kanye West – "Love Yourself"
 * Andra Day feat. Common – "Stand Up For Something"
 * SZA feat. Travis Scott – "Love Galore"
 * Charlie Wilson feat. T.I. – "I'm Blessed"

Outstanding Jazz Album

 * Somi – Petite Afrique
 * Damien Escobar – Boundless
 * Najee – Poetry in Motion
 * Cécile McLorin Salvant – Dreams and Daggers
 * Preservation Hall Jazz Band – So It Is

Outstanding Gospel Album – Traditional or Contemporary

 * Greenleaf Soundtrack – Greenleaf Soundtrack Volume 2
 * Tasha Cobbs – Heart. Passion. Pursuit.
 * Travis Greene – Crossover Live From Music City
 * Marvin Sapp – Close
 * CeCe Winans – Let Them Fall In Love

Outstanding Music Video

 * Bruno Mars – "That's What I Like"
 * Mary J. Blige – "Strength of a Woman"
 * JAY-Z – "4:44"
 * Maxwell – "Gods"
 * Ledisi – "High"

Outstanding Song, Traditional

 * Bruno Mars – "That's What I Like"
 * Mary J. Blige – "U + Me (Love Lesson)"
 * Ledisi – "High"
 * John Legend – "Surefire (Piano Version)"
 * MAJOR. – "Honest"

Outstanding Song, Contemporary

 * Kendrick Lamar – "HUMBLE."
 * JAY-Z – "The Story of O.J."
 * Mali Music – "Gonna Be Alright"
 * Jazmine Sullivan x Bryson Tiller – "Insecure"
 * SZA feat. Travis Scott – "Love Galore"

Outstanding Album

 * Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.
 * Mary J. Blige – Strength of a Woman
 * JAY-Z – 4:44
 * Brian McKnight – Genesis
 * Charlie Wilson – In It to Win It

Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction

 * Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Maria Tatar – The Annotated African American Folktales
 * Marita Golden – The Wide Circumference of Love
 * Celeste Ng – Little Fires Everywhere
 * Jesmyn Ward – Sing, Unburied, Sing
 * Stephanie Powell Watts – No One Is Coming to Save Us

Outstanding Literary Work, Non-Fiction

 * Dick Gregory – Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies
 * Herb Boyd – Black Detroit – A People’s History of Self-Determination
 * Paul Butler – Chokehold: Policing Black Men
 * Ta-Nehisi Coates – We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy
 * Adrian Miller – The President's Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, from the Washingtons to the Obamas

Outstanding Literary Work, Debut Author

 * Stephanie Powell Watts – No One Is Coming to Save Us
 * Devin Allen – A Beautiful Ghetto
 * Leland Melvin – Chasing Spaces: An Astronaut’s Story of Grit, Grace & Second Chances
 * Gabrielle Union – We're Going to Need More Wine
 * Patricia Williams with Jeannine Amber – Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat

Outstanding Literary Work, Biography/Auto-Biography

 * Susan Burton and Cari Lynn – Becoming Ms. Burton - From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women
 * Peter Baker – Obama: The Call of History
 * Jonathan Eig – Ali: A Life
 * Lawrence P. Jackson – Chester B. Himes
 * Gabrielle Union – We're Going to Need More Wine

Outstanding Literary Work, Instructional

 * Tererai Trent – The Awakened Woman: Remembering & Reigniting Our Sacred Dreams
 * Misty Copeland – Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger, and More Graceful You
 * Kelvin Davis – Notoriously Dapper - How to Be A Modern Gentleman with Manners, Style and Body Confidence
 * Kristen Kish with Meredith Erickson – Kristen Kish Cooking
 * Sheri Riley – Exponential Living - Stop Spending 100% of Your Time on 10% of Who You Are

Outstanding Literary Work, Poetry

 * Patricia Smith – Incendiary Art: Poems
 * Cameron Barnett – The Drowning Boy's Guide to Water
 * Aja Monet – My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter
 * Ntozake Shange – Wild Beauty: New and Selected Poems
 * Marcus Wicker – Silencer

Outstanding Literary Work, Children

 * Vashti Harrison – Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
 * Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Raymond Obstfeld – Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court
 * Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome – Before She Was Harriet
 * Andrea J. Loney and Keith Mallett – Take a Picture of Me, James VanDerZee!
 * Cynthia Levinson and Vanessa Brantley-Newton – The Youngest Marcher: The Story of Audrey Faye Hendricks, A Young Civil Rights Activist

Outstanding Literary Work, Youth/Teens

 * Rita Williams-Garcia and Frank Morrison – Clayton Byrd Goes Underground
 * Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess – Solo
 * Tiffany D. Jackson – Allegedly
 * Jason Reynolds - Long Way Down
 * Angie Thomas – The Hate U Give