NAACP’s Derrick Johnson offers light on 54th NAACP Image Awards

The 54th NAACP Image Awards will be broadcast on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at 8:00 p.m. (live ET/on delay PT) on BET from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. More than 70 categories will be highlighted this year—another example of African-American excellence.

In case you didn’t know, the NAACP (originally the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded in 1909—the same year as this newspaper—in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country. The NAACP is the largest civil rights organization in the nation. Its mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all people.

Now that we’ve established the importance of the organization, it goes without saying how vital the 54th NAACP Image Awards are in 2023. The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s part of the wisdom that I gleaned from interviewing Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP via Zoom. Johnson has a strong presence and a warmth that I found comforting. And those are brilliant qualities for a leader to possess. 

As president and CEO of the NAACP since 2017, Johnson has a unique vantage point, having served as vice chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors, as well as state president of the Mississippi State Conference NAACP. That history as a longstanding member and leader of the NAACP has helped him guide the association through a period of re-envisioning and reinvigoration.

Under Johnson’s leadership, the NAACP has undertaken efforts such as the 2018 “Log Out” Facebook Campaign, pressuring Facebook after reports of Russian hackers targeting African Americans; the Jamestown to Jamestown Partnership, marking the 400th year enslaved Africans first touched the shores of America; and 2020’s We are Done Dying Campaign, exposing inequities embedded in the American healthcare system and the country at large.

As the Biden administration took office in 2021, Johnson led the charge in calling for a Cabinet-level position focused squarely on advancing our nation’s longstanding issue of racial justice. President Biden signed an Executive Order establishing an interagency effort to eliminate systemic racial barriers and ensure federal policies are rooted in equity, optimizing the well-being of all in public policies. 

Johnson continues to be on the frontlines of some of the most pressing civil rights issues of our time, calling out Virginia Governor Ralph Northam for his use of Blackface, condemning the burning of Black churches in Tennessee and Louisiana, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in opposition to then-Attorney General William Barr’s nomination, and overseeing the NAACP’s vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump at the 110th National Convention in Detroit.

Johnson elevated the NAACP’s visibility and voice in calling for a national response to the coronavirus pandemic that was informed by existing racial disparities in healthcare outcomes, access, coverage, and services, as well as the disparate impact of COVID-19 on African Americans and other people of color. 

Recognizing the critical importance of quality healthcare, Johnson has long advocated for expanded Medicaid eligibility, affordable health insurance options, and investment in community-based healthcare infrastructure through a strong network of equitably located, well-resourced community health centers. 

Johnson is frequently featured on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and many other outlets, advocating on behalf of the Black community and all those who are affected by systemic oppression and prejudice.

Here’s what Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, had to say about the upcoming 54th NAACP Image Awards and the role of the organization today and in the future. 

AMSTERDAM NEWS (AMN): Thank you for taking the time to speak with me about the 54th NAACP Image Awards. Why does this award have such credibility, 54 years after being founded?

DERRICK JOHNSON (DJ): You’re welcome. We celebrate Black excellence, so it’s always important for us to celebrate one another. It’s always important for us to recognize the contributions we’ve made to the culture and the culture that we’ve set for this country. 

AMN: Why do the 54th NAACP Image Awards have so many categories?  

DJ: I’’s because we begin to recognize that the contribution of African Americans is more than just in front of the screen. It’s also behind the screens, and in writing [screenwriting, television, novels, etc.], costume design, etc.—it’s all areas. 

We have to recognize creativity on social media platforms because it’s important as a result of some of their work. [Some creatives] have larger followings than the networks; therefore, we are here to celebrate Black excellence, wherever it shows up in the entertainment industry. The categories will continue to evolve as a result.

AMN:The flexibility and swift response by the 54th NAACP Image Awards committee moving with the times is smart business. On my social media feed, there were so many “thank you for my nomination” posts—it was thick with gratitude. 

DJ: We just had the nominee event on Saturday, and tnd the beautiful thing about the luncheon, as it is every year, is that it is an opportunity for those who have been nominated to all convene in a room together outside of the media glare. We get to embrace [in a] collective celebration that in itself generates the necessary energy. 

AMN: How did you step into this role?

DJ: I never planned to be in the job I have. I had been a volunteer in multiple capacities since being an undergrad in 1999—I went to Tougaloo College in Mississippi, and it was instilled in us that we had an obligation around social justice, and I took it to heart. And I continue to work—it was the thing that I enjoyed and it comes naturally to me because I’m a student of history. I began to move up through the ranks, and when the organization was in need of leadership change in 2017, I was elected as vice chair of the board, and then ultimately asked to step into the role as interim CEO. I’m still here five years later. For me, this is a journey of giving and loving my community and making sure we step up our ability to operate with excellence. 

AMN: I often tell my South Asian and Latino sisters and brothers that the NAACP is for them as well, especially for my Afro-Latino communities. The struggles are the same. It is the white male majority that creates the illusion of division when our shared DNA says something differently. 

DJ: You know, race is a social construct. And because it is a social construct, we must understand this about power, domination, and control. 

On the other side of that, we have to recognize the caste system that we can self-impose on ourselves within our community. You’re right: There is no distinction between people of African descent when it comes to that social construct, because the goal is to dominate, control, and exploit for cheap labor and for profit. Whether you are Latino, Caribbean, from Sierra Leone or from Chicago, the reality is the same because our pigmentation has given some people a license to exploit it. We stand united, we can address it. And we cannot self-impose caste systems between one another so that others outside of our community can leverage our pigmentation for their benefit.

AMN: Thank you for your time. It was eye-opening and illuminating. DJ: You are welcome.