Kamala Harris Walks at 2025 NAACP Image Awards
US former Vice President Kamala Harris gave a fiery and militant speech at the 2025 NAACP Image Awards when she received the very coveted Chairman’s Award. The evening, which was on a Saturday night, was a Black celebratory evening and appreciation of individuals who have contributed significantly in civil rights and public service. Harris, the pioneering American, was not shaken on stage to narrate how democracy is collapsing and called upon the country to come together, keep on struggling, and act in crisis.
Celebratory and Reflective Night
The NAACP Image Awards, the black-tie annual gala celebrating the Black community’s excellence, rolled out the red carpet to welcome the guests in the style of political and entertainment legends and social activists. Kamala Harris, who was a recipient of the Chairman’s Award, became a member of the select list of past winners that also includes former President Barack Obama, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and Samuel L. Jackson and Forest Whitaker, actors.
In Kamala Harris thanking the audience for her address, Harris addressed her own lifetime of service as a NAACP member, stating, “This award is important to me because I was trained with respect for the work of the NAACP. This institution is one among the reasons that I am a career of public life.” She proceeded to extend the challenge of the NAACP tradition to the work of justice and fairness, calling upon Americans to be as urgent in their sense as had the leaders of the movement.
A Call to Action: In Defense of Democracy
Harris’ address was a complaint that was grave and optimistic when she was addressing the condition of the nation at present. “Some look at this moment and rightly feel the weight of history,” she explained. “Some see the fire on our borders, the rising waves in our cities, the shadows cast over our democracy, and ask, ‘What do we do now?’
Her response was unvarnished: “We exercise our power. We mobilize, organize, educate, and advocate.” Kamala Harris called upon Americans to set aside despair and cynicism and let them remind them that the fight for democracy and justice is never certain or easy but always worth it.
While Kamala Harris did not really mention her 2024 presidential election opponent, Donald Trump, former President, news spread quickly. She claimed the nation’s future would no longer be driven by economic elites and politicians but “we the people.” Her words were recalled by individuals, and she was awarded a standing ovation as she went on to accept the award.
Celebrating Black Excellence
The 2025 NAACP Image Awards also celebrated other trailblazers in the entertainment industry. Comedian Dave Chappelle received the President’s Award, which recognizes outstanding achievements and distinguished public service. Chappelle, known for his groundbreaking work in comedy and social commentary, described the honor as “probably the most special award I’ve ever gotten.”
With pressure still in contemporary times from the NAACP, Chappelle continued, “It’s good to know we’re not in it alone.” He continued half-boastfully that to travel these times is out of need rather than necessarily because they must, and with laughter, “Now that all my Netflix paychecks cleared, every time I stand up there, I’m only standing up there because I want to be.”
Recording artist and actress Keke Palmer was also handed the Entertainer of the Year, leaving her nearly dropped-jawed. Palmer spoke to the Black community in her acceptance speech, “Nobody has lifted me up more than you all, the people in this room.” Palmer also spoke to fellow nominee Cynthia Erivo and even the symbolic tip of the hat to the latter’s own legendary performance of “Defying Gravity” in Wicked.
A Box Office Success for Tyler Perry’s The Six Triple Eight
Biggest winner of the night was Tyler Perry’s The Six Triple Eight, a biographical drama based on the actual life of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all women and black Black Women’s Army Corps World War II unit. It was the highest-awarded film, for it took the award in the Best Picture category, as well as in the awarding of Kerry Washington as Best Actress in a Motion Picture and of Ebony Obsidian as Best Supporting Actress.
Washington, in accepting her award, invited us all to be our very best. “Tonight is about all of us being called into our greatness,” she said. “Remember your greatness, because that’s what the fight is for.”
A Legacy of Leadership and Inspiration
Kamala Harris NAACP Image Awards appearance was her ongoing role as a change maker and leader. NAACP Board of Directors Chairman Leon W. Russell welcomed her 2024 presidential bid as “a force of nature” and bestowed “no one else could have done what she did.”.
With this, she ended, bringing the entire audience to a call for optimism and hope: “Our strength lies in our faith: Faith in God, faith in each other, and determination not to give in to cynicism and destructiveness. Not because the easy thing to do, but because the hard thing to do is needed. Not because victory is assured, but because struggle is needed.”
Looking Ahead
The 2025 NAACP Image Awards recognized not only the Black talent and leaders, but also reminded us not to forget that there is a war that must be fought in order to have justice and equality. Kamala Harris’ speech and other speeches that were presented to commemorate pathfinders recalled one to the fact that strength is in the number of how many are uniting to fight the war of similar intent and an even larger number to design a better world.
While the nation is divided on the issues of justice and democracy, to attend the NAACP Image Awards means being on a journey of self-discovery, motivation, and justification of the fight for an equal society’s realization. The message of Kamala Harris and the award evening itself are proof of the success of hope and determination in creating the path to the future no matter all adversities.
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