I don’t know how y’all do things on y’alls side of the internet, but on this side, we support any and all things LeVar Burton—especially when he’s going to be one of the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Emmys!
Per TVLine, the Roots star and Reading Rainbow host will receive the well-deserved award at this year’s first annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, expected to be held in person at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles this December. Over the course of his career, Burton has been the recipient of 12 Daytime Emmys, a Peabody, Grammy and multiple NAACP Image Awards.
In addition to this recognition, the revered public figure recently won a Webby Award for his podcast, aptly titled LeVar Burton Reads, and is set to host the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals this summer.
“I could not be more excited,” Burton said in a social media post sharing the news.
He further explained at the time: “Hosting the Scripps National Spelling Bee will be an honor. Like a lot of folks, I look forward to the competition every year and am excited to be a part of this wonderful tradition that celebrates excellence.”
In addition to Burton, several other notable figures and programs will be honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards, including John Aniston, sports journalist Lesley Visser, natural history documentarian Sir David Attenborough, veteran news and political journalist Judy Woodruff, and This Old House, which joins Sesame Street and 60 Minutes as the only programs to receive Lifetime Achievement awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS).
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: LeVar Burton is a national treasure who should be protected at all costs and respected and showered with adoration and recognition regularly. An achievement for him feels like an achievement for all of us and that’s honestly a feeling we could all probably use more of.
Congratulations LeVar, you deserve!