It’s that time of year again! ESSENCE’s 2014 Black Women in Hollywood event will celebrate the top African-American women in the film industry on February 27.
Newcomer Lupita Nyong’o will be honored with the Best Breakout Performance award for her stellar performance in 12 Years a Slave. Cheryl Boone Isaacs will receive the Trailblazer award for her leadership in the film industry and Ava DuVernay will receive the Visionary award for her work as a writer, producer, director and distributer of independent film.
In an effort to honor the past, the event will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by paying tribute to legendary performers who were also the freedom fighters of the Civil Rights Movement. Cicely Tyson, Diahann Carroll, Nichelle Nichols, Jim Brown, Denise Nicholas and Clarence Williams III among others will be honored for their brave acts both on and off the stage.
A second event, Black Men in Hollywood: A Year in Film, will pay tribute to our brothers on the silver screen. The dinner will be hosted by the one and only Tracee Ellis Ross on February 26 in Los Angeles and will trumpet the most compelling and outstanding performances in 2013 by Black men.
Fans can gain exclusive access to the red-carpet action of the 2014 Black Women in Hollywood event through a live-stream hosted here on ESSENCE.com, at 1:30 p.m.
“2013 was an extraordinary year of breakthroughs in Hollywood,” says ESSENCE Editor-In-Chief Vanessa Bush, “with the naming of Cheryl Boone Isaacs as the first African American president of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the emergence of gifted actor Lupita Nyong’o as a rising star, Ava DuVernay’s riveting directorial bow on Scandal, and the prominence of African-American leading men who created roles that displayed our diversity and humanity. During the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ESSENCE remains committed to honoring excellence in media both in front of and behind the camera.”
We can’t wait!