Guess who’s back in the *CENSORED* house with some new awards for the African American crowd!!!?? If you said, it’s gotta be the shoes, then you’re wrong. It’s the Ro-Ro-The Root, bringing back our Blackest Awards for the second time. That makes it official, we can call it an annual award now. We want to thank you for letting us be ourselves and helping us celebrate Blackness, Black Culture, Black Love and Black Excellence in all of its forms.
Last year’s awards were a smashing success. For those who won, the awards are still in the mail but we used USPS so you know how that goes. The check is also in the mail (it’s not). That’s just how The Skippies get down.
Oh silly of me, to think that you already know what we finna do. (I really hope you read in the key and cadence of Deniece Williams’ “Silly”) Let me refresh your memories for those of you who either don’t remember or weren’t around here last year.
The “biggest nights” in music and movies, though, often do a fairly terrible job of acknowledging the work and achievements of so many individuals in the black community who have given their all to their craft. Well, The Root is going to right that ship. We present to you The Blackest Awards, and in honor of the founder of The Root, Henry Louis “Skip” Gates Jr., we will refer to them as The Skippies.
Why are we doing this? What are The Skippies? We’re glad that you asked. The Skippies are our way to celebrate those often unsung individuals and moments in cinema and television that exemplify black excellence; The Skippies allow us to acknowledge and appreciate the people and works that have helped shape Black culture.
Every year, in February, The Root will bring you a cadre of nominees who have elevated the black arts in movies and television. By culling the works of art presented each year helmed, created and executed by black people, we will give our artists their flowers while we still can. This inaugural edition of The Blackest Awards will, however, be all-encompassing and include nominees that span eras and decades. And we need your help!
Basically, The Skippies is our way of celebrating Blackness on television and cinema and because we’re Black and we were all stuck in the house all year (or should have been—I’m looking at you Atlanta, from 6 feet away; you probably got that ‘Rona) we’re throwing the Internets into this occasion since so much of what kept us afloat in 2020 was challenges, memes and general Internet fun! We are going to present to you a bunch of committee-curated categories and nominees. And you get to vote on them!! Isn’t that nice? I think it’s nice. Most of the nominees are representing for the last year (2020). Also, don’t worry if the nominees don’t always align perfectly or even make sense with that. We do it like we’re doing it for TV. You’re welcome.
Voting opens up today and runs through Friday, Feb. 5. Get your vote on and in, and welcome to The Skippies. Please see below for each category and the nominees, and please vote. This year, we will also have a few awards given to specific people who have or are advancing Blackness in many forms and fashions because sharing is caring. As Nathan, Michael, Shawn and Wanya sang in 2000, we thank you in advance.