46th NAACP Awards

The stars came out in style for the 46th NAACP Awards broadcast live on TV One from Pasadena, California. The best in television, movies, and music were honored, and among the top winners were Selma, How to Get Away With Murder, and Black-ish.

Anthony Anderson opened the show with a dance performance to ‘Uptown Funk,’ and he even took the dance to Oprah Winfrey’s empty chair, because Oprah was a late arrival. Well, the show was live, and a prominent empty chair does stand out, and he couldn’t resist letting everyone know.

Anthony had a good time hosting and he was also among the winners. He won for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series for Black-ish.

Viola Davis won the much-deserved honor of Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for How to Get Away With Murder. Joe Morton won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Scandal, another well-deserved honor.

Shemar Moore won for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for Criminal Minds. He said he was caught off guard by the win, “My heart is jumping out of my chest right now because I didn’t see this coming.”

Tracee Ellis Ross was moved too when she won for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for Black-ish and said, “I just want to say this. I love being a woman. I love playing a woman. I love being a whole and full woman.”

The ceremony did not steer clear of pressing social issues and addressed the controversial deaths of Eric Garner and Mike Brown. Ava DuVernay did the honor of introducing the montage that covered the explosive emotions expressed across the country in regards to these significant tragedies. “It happened to Jimmy Lee Jackson in 1965, Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis in 2012, and to Eric Garner and Micheal Brown just last year.”

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture went to David Oyelowo for Selma, but it was Taraji P. Henson’s night! She won Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for No Good Deed and also took home the huge honor of Entertainer of the Year.