HOLLYWOOD—The National Academy of Advancement for Colored People held its 46th Annual NAACP awards ceremony on February 6.

“Selma” was the night’s big winner with four trophies including Outstanding Motion Picture. Its star David Oyelowo was victorious in the Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture category for his role as Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Empire” star Taraji P. Henson won the prize for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her performance in the thriller “No Good Deed.”

“Selma” co-stars Carmen Ejogo and Common picked up trophies in the Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress races. The movie “Belle” starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw won the award for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture.

Taraji P. Henson won the award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for "No Good Deed."
Taraji P. Henson won the award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for “No Good Deed.”

On the television side of things, the ABC hit “black-ish” won a total of five awards including Outstanding Comedy Series. Anthony Anderson got a bit emotional when taking the stage to accept his award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series. His co-star Tracee Ellis won the award for Actress in a Comedy Series, and co-stars Laurence Fishburne and Yara Shahidi won trophies for Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Turning our attention to drama, ABC’s “How to Get Away with Murder” won the award for Outstanding Drama Series, and its star Viola Davis won the award for Outstanding Actress.  Shemar Moore nabbed the prize for Outstanding Actor in a Drama series for his work on “Criminal Minds.”

While “Scandal’s” Joe Morton and Khandi Alexander took home awards in the Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress categories. “The Trip to Bountiful” took home three prizes including Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special. Its stars Cicely Tyson and Blair Underwood won top-acting prizes.

Comedian Steve Harvey won for Outstanding Talk Series and Host, while Outstanding Reality Series went to “Iylana: Fix My Life.” In the musical categories, Pharrell Williams won for Outstanding Male Artist, while Beyonce won for Outstanding Female Artist.

The ceremony was hosted by nominee and comedian Anthony Anderson who proved his comedic timing to be sharper than most expect.  He delivered bellyaches of laughs throughout the ceremony, and his charm could prove worthy if he returns to host the ceremony for a third time in 2016.