When and where to watch the 2023 NAACP Image Awards

The rain may have stopped the 2023 NAACP Image Awards red carpet event for the non-televised dinner, but the show is still on for Saturday, February 25.

The 54th annual NAACP Image Awards are a week-long event that celebrates the best in film, TV, music, and literature. The televised portion of the event is set to take place on Saturday, and here’s how to watch.

When and where will the show be aired?

The live ceremony will air live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on Saturday beginning at 8 p.m ET.

Channels airing the show are BET, which will be airing the show delayed at 8 p.m. PST. Simulcasts can be watched on BET Her, CBS, CMT, Comedy Central, LOGO, MTV, MTV2, Paramount Network, POP TV, Smithsonian, TV Land, and VH1.

This year’s show will be hosted by Queen Latifah, and includes a number of A-List presenters such as Zendaya, Janelle Monáe, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kerry Washington, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Damson Idris, and Janelle James.

Serena Williams is also set to win the Jackie Robinson Sports Award, joining Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry, as previously winners.

Gabrielle Union-Wade and Dwyane Wade, will receive the President’s Award, which recognizes “special achievement and distinguished public service”. Previous winners of the award include Rihanna, LeBron James, Prince Harry & Meghan Markle, and Muhammad Ali.

Over the last week, a number of winners have been awarded during the event’s non-televised portion.

Why the NAACP Image Awards are important

The NAACP Image Awards, founded by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1967, honors the best in entertainment media from people of color.

Originally meant to celebrate the achievements of Black artists, the awards have been expanded to include non-white artists of any ethnicity. A few white performers have also been nominated, although these instances were met with criticism.

“We do have an underlying mission, and ours is to broaden the scope, widen the lens, if you will, in the critique and the evaluation of what excellence looks like,” said Kyle Bowser, the senior vice president of the NAACP’s Hollywood Bureau.