Genius: MLK/X executive producer Reggie Rock Bythewood, in accepting the award for best limited series/special at the 6th Annual African American Film Critics Association (AFFCA) TV Honors Saturday afternoon, made a political plea to attendees as he and the producing team of the National Geographic series, which includes wife Gina Prince-Bythwood, noted the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X’s historic meeting in the halls of the U.S. Capitol building in 1964.
“Sixty years later, let’s pick up the baton, let’s organize, let’s elect Vice President Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States,” Bythewood told guests. “And by any means necessary, let’s continue to realize the dream.”
AAFCA’s TV Honors was held Saturday at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in the same ballroom where the Academy Awards were first held 95 years ago. The association presented a total of 15 awards recognizing achievements in television and streaming.
All American and Found showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll received one of the first major honors of the event: the Salute to Excellence Award. Recounting how she fell in love with the 1982 Dolly Parton musical comedy The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas as a child, Okoro Carroll spoke of how her connection to the film as a consumer informs her persistence now as a storyteller.
“I relay this story because I refuse to listen when I hear people tell me that our stories aren’t relatable. I refuse to listen when they say that our stories don’t travel, that they are too niche,” she said. “The truth is, our stories are not only great TV, they are great business. They are universally relatable. Because if I, as a seven-year-old Nigerian girl, found a way to relate to Dolly and her ladies in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, then I know for sure there is a way for the greater world to relate to our stories. And that is why I refuse to back down.”
Streaming platform Tubi received the Ally Award for providing a diverse catalog of TV shows and films at no cost to its predominantly Black, Latino, Asian and LGBTQ audience, and for creating opportunities for first-time filmmakers, many of whom are of color, to showcase their work. “We’re so blessed to have built a really incredible relationship with Black audiences,” said Tubi chief content officer Adam Lewinson. “We’ve got thousands of movies and TV shows of Black Talent in front of and behind the camera, and a content team that truly feels passionately about the stories that we choose to tell.”
Acknowledging some of the creators in the room, such as filmmaker Bryian Keith Montgomery Jr. (Cinnamon) and screenwriter Fredrick Leach (Caged Birds), Lewinson continued, “[In the] early days, we kept hearing from the indie film community, ‘Don’t sleep on Tubi,’ and now today, I don’t think anybody’s sleeping. I think they’re watching. And we’re really listening. We’re here to reflect culture and help tell your stories.”
Starz president of original programming Kathryn Busby accepted the Impact Award which went to the Power Universe, recognizing Power, created by showrunner Courtney A. Kemp alongside Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson in 2014, and its three spinoffs: Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, and Power Book IV: Force.
“Power is celebrating a momentous 10-year anniversary of groundbreaking drama, culminating in 150 hours of television amassing over 1.6 billion hours watched around the world,” said Busby, who also spoke to the impact the series has had on Black creators.
“Power also celebrates and honors Black talent,” she continued, “In fact, Power broke ground by featuring a predominantly Black cast and continues to pave the way for more diverse representation on television, both in front of and behind the camera. I can proudly say that we have some of the most diverse crews in the business across our Power series. The Power universe is one of Starz’s greatest jewels, and it continues to sparkle with more fresh stories that are going to be told, remaining a cultural touch point with fans, even after a decade on the air.”
Other winners at this year’s awards included Black Twitter: A People’s History (best documentary); Masters of the Air (best ensemble); Bookie (best new show); Ayo Edebiri (best TV acting female —The Bear); Wendell Pierce (best TV acting male—Elsbeth); Unprisoned (best TV comedy); Channing Godfrey Peoples (best TV directing— Genius: MLK/X Episode 401 “Graduation”); The Chi (best TV drama); The Bear (best writing) and Josiah Cross (breakout star— Masters of the Air).
Glynn Turman received the final honor of the ceremony, the Legacy Award, presented to him by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and AAFCA member Jasmine Simpkins. Recalling a conversation he recently had in which it was pointed out that he’s the last living actor from the company that performed in Lorraine Hansberry’s 1959 Broadway debut of A Raisin in the Sun, which included Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and Louis Gossett Jr., Turman said, “These people created such a space and set such a high bar for us to devote to, and that’s what I always keep in my mind when I select parts, when I do my work, when I dedicate productions or performances. This is for you, Sidney, this is for you, Ruby, this is for you, Douglas Turner, this is for you, Lou Gossett. That makes it more than about myself. It makes me have to commit a different part of what the journey is about because I owe it.”
“I owe it to you,” Turman continued, pointing to his granddaughter who joined him onstage during his acceptance speech. “It’s about life. It’s about living. It’s about a charge that we have been given that I do not take for granted. What an opportunity we have. What a journey we go on… There’s only the dedication. There is no finish line.”
