Rare Toni Morrison short story, Recitatif to be released as a book on Feb. 1, 2022

On February 1, 2022 "Recitatif," written by Morrison in the early 1980s and rarely seen over the following decades will be released as a book.

In this 1983 short story--the only short story Morrison ever wrote--we meet Twyla and Roberta, who have known each other since they were eight years old and spent four months together as roommates in St. Bonaventure shelter. Inseparable then, they lose touch as they grow older, only later to find each other again at a diner, a grocery store, and again at a protest. Seemingly at opposite ends of every problem, and at each other's throats each time they meet, the two women still cannot deny the deep bond their shared experience has forged between them.

Another work of genius by this masterly writer, Recitatif keeps Twyla's and Roberta's races ambiguous throughout the story. Morrison herself described Recitatif, a story which will keep readers thinking and discussing for years to come, as "an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial." We know that one is white and one is Black, but which is which? And who is right about the race of the woman the girls tormented at the orphanage?

A remarkable look into what keeps us together and what keeps us apart, and how perceptions are made tangible by reality, Recitatif is a gift to readers in these changing times.

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY OF RECITATIF

Amanda Gorman has the top spot on USA Today best-seller list

Amanda Gorman is touting her new book as the first poetry title to land the top spot on USA Today's best-seller's list in its nearly 30-year history.

The newspaper announced this week that Gorman's book "The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem" is the first collection of poetry to snag the No. 1 position on its collection of best-selling books since the list began in 1993.

The 23-year-old Harvard University graduate stepped into the international spotlight and shot to fame in January when she recited her poem of the same name at President Biden's inauguration.

"That rumble above is the sound of the poetry ceiling cracking," Gorman tweeted Friday about the USA Today news.

"Thank you thank you thank you to all the people who chose to bring my words into their lives," she said. "I can't wait to see even more poets stand beside me on the best-seller list."

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

BUY THE BOOK

Phillis Wheatley: First African American woman to publish a book of poetry

Phillis Wheatley, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly (c. 1753 – December 5, 1784) was the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry.

Born in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America. She was purchased by the Wheatley family of Boston, who taught her to read and write and encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent.

On a 1773 trip to London with her master's son, seeking publication of her work, she was aided in meeting prominent people who became patrons. The publication in London of her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral on September 1, 1773, brought her fame both in England and the American colonies.

Critics consider her work fundamental to the genre of African-American literature,and she is honored as the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry and the first to make a living from her writing.

Tayari Jones wins the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction

American author Tayari Jones has won the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction with her fourth novel An American Marriage.

At an awards ceremony hosted in Bedford Square Gardens, central London – hosted by novelist and Women’s Prize Founder Director, Kate Mosse – the 2019 Chair of Judges, Kate Williams presented the author with the £30,000 ($38,000) prize and the ‘Bessie’, a limited edition bronze figurine. Both are anonymously endowed.

Professor Kate Williams,Chair of Judges, said: “This is an exquisitely intimate portrait of a marriage shattered by racial injustice. It is a story of love, loss and loyalty, the resilience of the human spirit painted on a big political canvas – that shines a light on today’s America. We all loved this brilliant book.”

The Women’s Prize for Fiction – one of the biggest international celebrations of women’s creativity – is the UK’s only annual book award for fiction celebrating excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from throughout the world.

Tayari Jones is the author of four novels, including Silver Sparrow, The Untelling, and Leaving Atlanta. Jones holds degrees from Spelman College, Arizona State University, and the University of Iowa. She serves on the MFA faculty at Rutgers and writes regular posts at www.tayarijones.com. She lives in Brooklyn.

An American Marriage

Celestial and Roy are a newlywed couple with a bright future; the embodiment of the American Dream and the New South. He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into a routine, their lives are derailed by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love she’s built her life around until now. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together.

This is a powerful story about love and family, injustice and strength. Through An American Marriage Tayari Jones proves she is not just a masterful storyteller, but also a visionary writer, unafraid to address important issues about race, class and society head-on.

Book of the week: The Origin of Others (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures) by Toni Morrison

America’s foremost novelist reflects on the themes that preoccupy her work and increasingly dominate national and world politics: race, fear, borders, the mass movement of peoples, the desire for belonging. What is race and why does it matter? What motivates the human tendency to construct Others? Why does the presence of Others make us so afraid?

Drawing on her Norton Lectures, Toni Morrison takes up these and other vital questions bearing on identity in The Origin of Others. In her search for answers, the novelist considers her own memories as well as history, politics, and especially literature. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Camara Laye are among the authors she examines. Readers of Morrison’s fiction will welcome her discussions of some of her most celebrated books―Beloved, Paradise, and A Mercy.

If we learn racism by example, then literature plays an important part in the history of race in America, both negatively and positively. Morrison writes about nineteenth-century literary efforts to romance slavery, contrasting them with the scientific racism of Samuel Cartwright and the banal diaries of the plantation overseer and slaveholder Thomas Thistlewood. She looks at configurations of blackness, notions of racial purity, and the ways in which literature employs skin color to reveal character or drive narrative. Expanding the scope of her concern, she also addresses globalization and the mass movement of peoples in this century. National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates provides a foreword to Morrison’s most personal work of nonfiction to date.

Check out the book.

HARDCOVER-------- KINDLE

Princeton professor named country's next poet laureate

Tracy K. Smith has a long list of accomplishments, from publishing three books of poetry to winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2012, and she just added one more prestigious achievement.

The Library of Congress named Smith its 2017-18 Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, an honor she shares with only 21 others.

"I am profoundly honored," sad Smith, a creative writing professor at Princeton University. "As someone who has been sustained by poems and poets, I understand the powerful and necessary role poetry can play in sustaining a rich inner life and fostering a mindful, empathic and resourceful culture."

"I am eager to share the good news of poetry with readers and future readers across this marvelously diverse country," she said.

Smith is the author of the poetry books "Life on Mars"; "Duende"; and "The Body's Question"; all of which have won awards. Her memoir, "Ordinary Light", was a finalist for the 2015 National Book Award in nonfiction and recognized as a notable book by The New York Times and the Washington Post.

Smith was appointed by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Wednesday, and is succeeding Juan Felipe Herrera.

Hayden called Smith a "poet of searching," and said she has a way with her poems.

"Her work travels the world and takes on its voices; brings history and memory to life; calls on the power of literature as well as science, religion and pop culture," Hayden said.

[SOURCE: NJ.COM]

Black History Month: Gwendolyn Brooks award winning writer

Gwendolyn Brooks was an award winning writer who went on to become the first African American to win a certain literary award.

Learn more about Gwendolyn Brooks here: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/gwendolyn-brooks

Congressman John Lewis wins National Book Award

Congressman John Lewis can now add another accolade to his long and distinguished civil rights/political career. He has won a National Book Award.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) won the Young People’s Literature award with his co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell for “March: Book Three.” The widely celebrated graphic novel recounts Lewis’s experience during the civil rights movement.

Lewis told the ecstatic crowd, “Some of you know I grew up in rural Alabama — very, very poor with very few books in our home.” Forcing back tears, he recalled walking to a local public library with his siblings to get a library card and being turned away because the library was for whites only. [SOURCE]

Other winners were:

Colson Whithead: Fiction: “The Underground Railroad”

Ibram X. Kendi: Non Fiction: “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America”

Daniel Borzutzky Poetry: “The Performance of Becoming Human.”

READ THE WINNERS!

Nine Republicans Reject Naming Post Office After Maya Angelou

Congress held a vote today on the rather mundane subject of renaming a post office, which normally passes with all 381 votes going for the renaming. That was not the case when a vote was held to rename a post office in Winston-Salem, N.C. after the world renowned poet and Presidential Medal of Freedom winner, Maya Angelou.

The measure did pass with 371 votes, but its very telling that a party that claims not to be racist has nine white men voting no on naming a post office after a black woman.

The nine Republicans who voted against naming the post office after Maya Angelou were GOP Reps Mo Brooks of Alabama, Ken Buck of Colorado, Michael Burgess of Texas, Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, Andy Harris of Maryland, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, and Steven Palazzo of Mississippi. Rep. Don Young of Alaska voted present.

Rep. Steve Israel, D-Ny., released a statement saying:

"Naming post offices is one of the most benign and bipartisan duties we perform in the House of Representatives, and there is rarely any opposition. That's why I was shocked today as nine Republicans voted against naming a post office after Maya Angelou, indisputably one of our country's greatest poets, authors and civil rights activists. The fact that these nine Members would cast a no vote shows a blatant disrespect and only adds to the damaging actions they've taken this year to reverse progress from long and hard fought civil rights battles."

Full list of nominees for the 46th NAACP Image Awards

Here is the complete list of the nominees for the 46 NAACP Image Awards. There are some no brainers and quite a few surprises.

NOMINEES

Outstanding Comedy Series

“Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)

“black-ish” (ABC)

“House of Lies” (Showtime)

“Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)

“Real Husbands of Hollywood” (BET)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series

Andre Braugher – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (FOX)

Anthony Anderson – “‘black-ish” (ABC)

Don Cheadle – “House of Lies” (Showtime)

Keegan-Michael Key – “Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)

Kevin Hart – “Real Husbands of Hollywood” (BET)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series

Mindy Kaling – “The Mindy Project” (FOX)

Niecy Nash – “The Soul Man” (TV Land)

Tracee Ellis Ross – “black-ish” (ABC)

Uzo Aduba – “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)

Wendy Raquel Robinson – “The Game” (BET)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Boris Kodjoe – “Real Husbands of Hollywood” (BET)

Glynn Turman – “House of Lies” (Showtime)

Laurence Fishburne – “black-ish” (ABC)

Marcus Scribner – “black-ish” (ABC)

Terry Crews – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (FOX)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Adrienne C. Moore – “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)

Laverne Cox – “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)

Lorraine Toussaint – “Orange is the New Black” (Netflix)

Sofia Vergara – “Modern Family” (ABC)

Yara Shahidi – “black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Drama Series

“Being Mary Jane” (BET)

“Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC)

“House of Cards” (Netflix)

“How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC)

“Scandal” (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series

LL Cool J – “NCIS: LA” (CBS)

Omar Epps – “Resurrection” (ABC)

Omari Hardwick – “Being Mary Jane” (BET)

Shemar Moore – “Criminal Minds” (CBS)

Taye Diggs – “Murder in the First” (TNT)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series

Gabrielle Union – “Being Mary Jane” (BET)

Kerry Washington – “Scandal” (ABC)

Nicole Beharie – “Sleepy Hollow” (FOX)

Octavia Spencer – “Red Band Society” (FOX)

Viola Davis – “How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Alfred Enoch – “How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC)

Courtney B. Vance – “Masters of Sex” (Showtime)

Guillermo Diaz  – “Scandal” (ABC)

Jeffrey Wright – “Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)

Joe Morton – “Scandal” (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Aja Naomi King – “How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC)

Alfre Woodard – “State of Affairs” (NBC)

Chandra Wilson – “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC)

Khandi Alexander – “Scandal” (ABC)

Jada Pinkett Smith – “Gotham” (FOX)

Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special

“A Day Late and a Dollar Short” (Lifetime Networks)

“American Horror Story: Freak Show” (FX)

“Drumline: A New Beat” (VH1)

“The Gabby Douglas Story” (Lifetime Networks)

“The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special

Blair Underwood – “The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)

Charles S. Dutton – “Comeback Dad” (UP Entertainment)

Larenz Tate – “Gun Hill” (BET)

Mekhi Phifer – “A Day Late and a Dollar Short” (Lifetime Networks)

Ving Rhames – “A Day Late and a Dollar Short” (Lifetime Networks)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special

Angela Bassett – “American Horror Story: Freak Show” (FX)

Cicely Tyson – “The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)

Keke Palmer – “The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)

Regina King – “The Gabby Douglas Story” (Lifetime Networks)

Vanessa Williams – “The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)

Outstanding News/ Information (Series or Special)

“America After Ferguson” (PBS)

“Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” (PBS)

“Melissa Harris Perry” (MSNBC)

“Oprah’s Lifeclass” (OWN)

“Unsung” (TV One)

Outstanding Talk Series

“Oprah Prime” (OWN)

“Steve Harvey” (Syndicated)

“The Queen Latifah Show” (Syndicated)

“The View” (ABC)

“The Wendy Williams Show” (Syndicated)

Outstanding Reality Series

“Shark Tank” (ABC)

“Iyanla: Fix My Life” (OWN)

“Dancing with the Stars” (ABC)

“The Voice” (NBC)

“Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” (OWN)

Outstanding Variety (Series or Special)

“BET Awards” (BET)

“Family Feud” (Syndicated)

“On the Run: Beyoncé and Jay Z” (HBO)

“Oprah’s Master Class” (OWN)

“UNCF An Evening of Stars” (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, The CW, BET, Centric)

Outstanding Children’s Program

“Doc McStuffins” (Disney Junior)

“Anna Deavere Smith: A Youngarts Masterclass” (HBO)

“HALO Awards” (Nickelodeon)

“Dora and Friends: Into The City!” (Nickelodeon)

“Kid President: Declaration of Awesome” (HUB)

Outstanding Performance by a Youth in a Youth/Children’s Program (Series or Special)

Amber Montana – “Haunted Hathaways” (Nickelodeon)

China Anne McClain – “How to Build a Better Boy” (Disney Channel)

Curtis Harris – “Haunted Hathaways” (Nickelodeon)

Fatima Ptacek – “Dora and Friends: Into The City!” (Nickelodeon)

Taliyah Whitaker – “Wallykazam!” (Nickelodeon)

Outstanding Host in a Talk, Reality, News/Information or Variety Series

Steve Harvey – “Steve Harvey” (Syndicated)

Queen Latifah – “The Queen Latifah Show” (Syndicated)

Chris Rock – “BET Awards” (BET)

Gwen Ifill – “America After Ferguson” (PBS)

Melissa Harris Perry – “Melissa Harris Perry” (MSNBC)

Outstanding New Artist

Aloe Blacc (XIX Recordings/Interscope Records)

Erica Campbell (My Block Inc./eOne Music)

Jhene Aiko (Def Jam Recordings)

Liv Warfield (Kobalt Label Services)

3 Winans Brothers (BMG)

Outstanding Male Artist

John Legend (Columbia Records)

Kem (Motown – Capitol)

Kendrick Lamar (Interscope Records)

Michael Jackson (Epic Records)

Pharrell Williams (Columbia Records)

Outstanding Female Artist

Alicia Keys (RCA Records)

Beyoncé (Columbia Records)

Jennifer Hudson (RCA Records)

Ledisi (Verve Records)

Mary J Blige (Capitol)

Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration

“Being With You” – Smokey Robinson feat. Mary J Blige (Verve)

“Brand New” – Pharrell Williams feat. Justin Timberlake (Columbia Records)

“Gust of Wind” – Pharrell Williams feat. Daft Punk (Columbia Records)

“Love, Marriage & Divorce” – Toni Braxton & Babyface (Def Jam Recordings)

“Stay with Me” – Sam Smith feat. Mary J Blige (Capitol)

Outstanding Jazz Album

“My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke” – Al Jarreau (Concord)

“Dave Koz and Friends: The 25th of December” – Dave Koz (Concord Records)

“Beautiful Life” – Dianne Reeves (Concord)

“Living My Dream” – Jonathan Butler (Rendezvous Music)

“Up” – Stanley Clarke (Mack Avenue Records)

Outstanding Gospel Album (Traditional or Contemporary)

“Duets” – Donnie McClurkin (RCA Inspiration)

“Help” – Erica Campbell (My Block Inc./eOne Music)

“I Will Trust” – Fred Hammond (RCA Inspiration)

“Where My Heart Belongs” – Gladys Knight (Shadow Mountain Records)

“Journey To Freedom” – Michelle Williams (eOne Music)

Outstanding Music Video

“Pretty Hurts” – Beyoncé (Columbia Records)

“You & I (Nobody in the World)” – John Legend (Columbia Records)

“It’s You” – KEM  (Motown – Capitol)

“i” – Kendrick Lamar (TDE/Interscope)

“Love Never Felt So Good” – Michael Jackson feat. Justin Timberlake (Epic Records)

Outstanding Song

“We Are Here” – Alicia Keys (RCA Records)

“The Man” – Aloe Blacc (Interscope Records)

“Pretty Hurts” – Beyoncé (Columbia Records)

“i” – Kendrick Lamar (TDE/Interscope)

“Good Kisser” – Usher (RCA Records)

Outstanding Album

“Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics” – Aretha Franklin (RCA Records)

“Beyoncé Platinum Edition” – Beyoncé (Columbia Records)

“JHUD” – Jennifer Hudson (RCA Records)

“G I R L” – Pharrell Williams (Columbia Records)

“Love, Marriage & Divorce” – Toni Braxton & Babyface (Def Jam Recordings)

Outstanding Literary Work – Fiction

“A Wanted Woman” – Eric Jerome Dickey (Penguin Random House)

“An Untamed State” – Roxane Gay (Grove/Atlantic – Black Cat)

“Another Woman’s Man” – Shelly Ellis (Kensington Publishing Corp.)

“Momma: Gone” – Nina Foxx (Brown Girls Publishing)

“The Prodigal Son” – Kimberla Lawson Roby (Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group)

Outstanding Literary Work – Non-Fiction

“Bad Feminist” – Roxane Gay (Harper Perennial/HarperCollins)

“Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” – Bryan Stevenson (Spiegel & Grau)

“Place not Race: A New Vision of Opportunity in America” – Sheryll Cashin (Beacon Press)

“The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act” – Clay Risen (Bloomsbury Press)

“Who We Be: The Colorization of America” – Jeff Chang (St. Martin’s Press)

Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author

“Forty Acres” – Dwayne Alexander Smith (Atria Books)

“Queen Sugar” – Natalie Baszile (Pamela Dorman Books/Penguin Random House)

“Remedy For A Broken Angel” – Toni Ann Johnson (Nortia Press)

“The 16th Minute of Fame: An Insider’s Guide for Maintaining Success Beyond 15 Minutes of Fame” – Darrell Miller (Dunham Books)

“Time of the Locust” – Morowa Yejide (Atria Books)

Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/ Auto Biography

“Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine” – Louis Sullivan with David Chanoff (University of Georgia Press)

“Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (with Great Hair)” – Rosie Perez (Crown Archetype)

“Life In Motion” – Misty Copeland (Touchstone)

“Mayor for Life” – Marion Barry, Omar Tyree (Strebor Books)

“Stand Up Straight and Sing!” – Jessye Norman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Outstanding Literary Work – Instructional

“101 Scholarship Applications: What It Takes to Obtain a Debt-Free College Education” – Gwen Richardson (Cushcity Communications)

“10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse” – JJ Smith (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster)

“Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed” – Bryant Terry (Ten Speed Press)

“Justice While Black: Helping African-American Families Navigate and Survive the Criminal Justice System” – Robbin Shipp, Nick Chiles (Agate Bolden)

“Promises Kept: Raising Black Boys to Succeed in School and in Life” – Joe Brewster, Michele Stephenson, Hilary Beard (Spiegel & Grau)

Outstanding Literary Work – Poetry

“Citizen: An American Lyric” – Claudia Rankine (Graywolf Press)

“Digest” – Gregory Pardlo (Four Way Books)

“The New Testament” – Jericho Brown (Copper Canyon Press)

“The Poetry of Derek Walcott 1948-2013″ – Derek Walcott, Selected by Glyn Maxwell (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

“We Didn’t Know Any Gangsters” – Brian Gilmore (Cherry Castle Publishing, LLC)

Outstanding Literary Work – Children

“Beautiful Moon” – Tonya Bolden (Author), Eric Velasquez (Illustrator) (Abrams/Abrams Books for Young Readers)

“Little Melba and Her Big Trombone” – Katheryn Russell-Brown (Author), Frank Morrison (Illustrator) (Lee & Low Books)

“Malcolm Little” – Ilyasah Shabazz (Author), AG Ford (Illustrator) (Simon & Schuster)

“Searching for Sarah Rector” – Tonya Bolden (Abrams/Abrams Books for Young Readers)

“Dork Diaries 8: Tales From A Note-So-Happily Ever After” – Rachel Renee Russell with Nikki Russell and Erin Russell (Simon & Schuster)

Outstanding Literary Work – Youth/Teens

“Because They Marched: The People’s Campaign for Voting Rights That Changed America” – Russell Freedman (Holiday House)

“Brown Girl Dreaming” – Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books)

“Revolution” – Deborah Wiles (Scholastic Press)

“The Freedom Summer Murders” – Don Mitchell (Scholastic Press)

“The Red Pencil” – Andrea Davis Pinkney (Author), Shane Evans (Illustrator) (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Outstanding Motion Picture

“Belle” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films)

“Beyond The Lights” (Relativity Media)

“Dear White People” (Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions)

“Get On Up” (Universal Pictures)

“Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture

Chadwick Boseman – “Get On Up” (Universal Pictures)

David Oyelowo – “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Denzel Washington – “The Equalizer” (Columbia Pictures)

Idris Elba – “No Good Deed” (Screen Gems)

Nate Parker – “Beyond The Lights” (Relativity Media)

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture

Gugu Mbatha-Raw – “Belle” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films)

Quvenzhané Wallis – “Annie” (Columbia Pictures)

Taraji P. Henson – “No Good Deed” (Screen Gems)

Tessa Thompson – “Dear White People” (Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions)

Viola Davis – “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby” (The Weinstein Company)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture

André Holland – “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Cedric the Entertainer – “Top Five” (Paramount Pictures)

Common – “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Danny Glover – “Beyond The Lights” (Relativity Media)

Wendell Pierce – “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Carmen Ejogo – “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Jill Scott – “Get On Up” (Universal Pictures)

Octavia Spencer – “Get On Up” (Universal Pictures)

Oprah Winfrey – “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

Viola Davis – “Get On Up” (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture

“Belle” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films)

“Dear White People” (Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions)

“Half of a Yellow Sun” (monterey media inc.)

“Life of a King” (Animus Films/Serena Films)

“JIMI: All Is By My Side” (XLrator Media)

Outstanding Documentary (Film)

“Documented” (Apo Anak Productions)

“Finding Fela” (Jigsaw Productions)

“I Am Ali” (Focus World/Fisheye Films)

“Keep On Keepin On” (RADiUS)

“Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People” (Chimpanzee Productions, Inc.)

Outstanding Documentary (Television)

“American Experience: Freedom Summer” (PBS)

“Bad Boys” (ESPN)

“Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown” (HBO)

“Rand University” (ESPN)

“The War Comes Home: Soledad O’Brien Reports” (CNN)

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series

Brigitte Munoz-Liebowitz – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” – Road Trip (FOX)

Aisha Muharrar – “Parks and Recreation” – Ann & Chris (NBC)

Regina Hicks – “Instant Mom” – A Kids’s Choice (Nickelodeon and Nick@Nite)

Sara Hess – “Orange is the New Black” – It Was the Change (Netflix)

Mindy Kaling – “The Mindy Project” – Danny and Mindy (FOX)

Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series

Zahir McGhee – “Scandal” – Mama Said Knock You Out (ABC)

Erika Green Swafford – “How to Get Away with Murder” – Let’s Get To Scooping (ABC)

Mara Brock Akil – “Being Mary Jane” – Uber Love (BET)

Warren Leight, Julie Martin – “Law & Order: SVU” – American Disgrace (NBC)

Zoanne Clack – “Grey’s Anatomy” – You Be Illin’ (ABC)

Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie

Karin Gist, Regina Hicks – “Drumline: A New Beat” (VH1)

Reggie Bythewood – “Gun Hill” (BET)

Shernold Edwards – “A Day Late and a Dollar Short” (Lifetime Networks)

Sterling Anderson, Maria Nation – “The Gabby Douglas Story” (Lifetime Networks)

Sharon Brathwaite, Peres Owino – “Seasons of Love” (Lifetime Networks)

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture

Chris Rock – “Top Five” (Paramount Pictures)

Richard Wenk – “The Equalizer” (Columbia Pictures)

Misan Sagay – “Belle” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films)

Justin Simien – “Dear White People” (Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate)

Margaret Nagle – “The Good Lie” (Alcon Entertainment)

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series

Ken Whittingham – “Parks and Recreation” – Prom (NBC)

Ken Whittingham – “The Mindy Project” – Think Like a Peter (FOX)

Reginald Hudlin – “Bad Judge” – Knife to a Gunfight (NBC)

Linda Mendoza – “Bad Judge” – One Brave Waitress (NBC)

Stan Lathan – “Real Husbands of Hollywood” – No New Friends (BET)

Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series

Anton Cropper – “Suits” – One-Two-Three Go… (USA)

Carl Franklin – “House of Cards” – Chapter 14 (Netflix)

Cary Joji Fukunaga – “True Detective” – Who Goes There (HBO)

Hanelle Culpepper – “Criminal Minds” – The Edge of Winter (CBS)

Millicent Shelton – “The Divide” – And the Little Ones Get Caught (WE tv)

Outstanding Directing in a Television Movie

Bille Woodruff – “Drumline: A New Beat” (VH1)

Gregg Champion – “The Gabby Douglas Story” (Lifetime Networks)

Michael Wilson – “The Trip to Bountiful” (Lifetime Networks)

Reggie Bythewood – “Gun Hill” (BET)

Stephen Tolkin – “A Day Late and a Dollar Short” (Lifetime Networks)

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture

Amma Asante – “Belle” (Fox Searchlight Pictures/ DJ Films)

Antoine Fuqua – “The Equalizer” (Columbia Pictures)

Ava DuVernay – “Selma” (Paramount Pictures)

John Ridley – “JIMI: All Is By My Side” (XLrator Media)

Gina Prince-Bythewood – “Beyond The Lights” (Relativity Media)

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance

Jamie Foxx – “Rio 2″ (20th Century Fox)

Loretta Devine – “Doc McStuffins” (Disney Junior)

Morgan Freeman – “The Lego Movie” (Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures/Ratpac-Dune Entertainment/Lego System A/S/Vertigo Entertainment/Lin Pictures)

Tracy Morgan – “The Boxtrolls” (Focus Features)

Zoe Saldana – “The Book of Life” (20th Century Fox)