LOS ANGELES — “The Help” collected three prizes at the NAACP Image Awards, including top actress honors for Viola Davis, the supporting actress prize for Octavia Spencer and outstanding motion picture.
Davis and Spencer have collected armloads of accolades for their work in the film about black maids who speak out against their white employers during the civil-rights movement. Both are up for Academy Awards next week.
Davis said the film has “just been the joy of my life.”
“I found my voice,” she said. “I just emerged through ‘The Help.’ “
The ceremony Friday at the Shrine Auditorium, which honored diversity in the arts, was punctuated by moving tributes to Whitney Houston, the Black Stuntmen’s Association, and George Lucas and the Tuskegee Airmen. Yolanda Adams sang the spiritual song “I Love the Lord, He Heard My Cry” as part of a tribute to Houston, who died last week.
Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte presented the President’s Award to the Black Stuntmen’s Association, which was established in 1967 to break racial barriers and earn black performers a place alongside white stuntmen in film and television.
Samuel L. Jackson presented Lucas with the Vanguard Award. The filmmaker was honored for his body of work, including the recent “Red Tails,” which tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, several of whom were in the audience and received a standing ovation.
