The 52nd NAACP Image Awards were given out on Saturday, and Chadwick Boseman was posthumously honoured with two major award wins. The late star came away as the winner of Outstanding Actor for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Outstanding Supporting Actor for Da 5 Bloods.
Chadwick Boseman wins NAACP Image Awards for final roles
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Da 5 Bloods were Boseman's final movies, both of which were Netflix productions released in 2020. The actor had already been announced as the winner of Outstanding Support Actor ahead of Saturday's NAACP Image Awards ceremony, but he was revealed as the winner of Outstanding Actor during the event.
Boseman's widow Simone Ledward accepted the award and in part took the opportunity to raise awareness for colon cancer screenings in the Black community. "Black people in this country are 20 percent more likely to be diagnosed with colon cancer and 40 percent more likely to die from it," she said tearfully. "The age for routine screening has recently been lowered to 45, so if you are 45 years of age or older, please get screened."
Chadwick Boseman died in August 2020 at age 43 after privately battling colon cancer for several years. The news of his death came suddenly and was a shock, as he'd kept the diagnosis private until after his passing.
Chadwick Boseman's honours this awards season
Boseman finished shooting his final two films in the summer of 2019, and he's received the highest of praise for the roles this awards season. On top of his NAACP Image Award wins, Boseman already won the Golden Globe for Best Actor, and he set a Screen Actors' Guild Awards record with four nominations ahead of the ceremony.
For Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Boseman is also the favourite to win Best Actor at the 93rd Oscars, which will air live on April 25. Should he win the award, he would become the third actor to receive an Oscar posthumously, after Peter Finch and Heath Ledger.
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