At first, the announcement was that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would attend this year’s NAACP Image Awards, which will air live on BET on Saturday (at 8pm). That was exciting enough, just the thought of Harry and Meghan at one of the largest and most prestigious award shows. But it turns out that it’s even better than that. Harry and Meghan are receiving an award, and they’re founding a new Image Award too, the NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award. Harry and Meghan will receive the President’s Award. Previous recipients of the President’s Award include: LeBron James, Rihanna, Kerry Washington, Colin Powell, Soledad O’Brien, Muhammad Ali, Jay-Z, Ruby Dee, Venus Williams and John Legend, just to name a few. The NAACP and the Sussexes all issued statements:

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will receive the President’s Award at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards, the NAACP announced Thursday. The honor, recognizing notable achievement and valued public service, will be handed out at the ceremony airing live on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. on BET.

“We’re thrilled to present this award to Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who together have heeded the call to social justice and have joined the struggle for equity both in the U.S. and around the world,” said NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson in a statement. “Not only do they continue to lead by example, The Duke and Duchess have also decided to inspire the next generation of activists through the NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, ensuring the support and recognition of generations of civil rights leaders to come.”

The NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award is a newly established annual award that is supported by the couple’s global nonprofit, Archewell Foundation, and administered by the NAACP. The award will honor individuals who are not only leaders of transformational change in progressing civil and human rights, but who also seek advancements in the digital rights space and work to expand equity. This year’s recipient is author and scholar Dr. Safiya Noble, an internet studies scholar and professor of Gender Studies and African American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Additionally, she is co-founder and faculty director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2), which works with the Archewell Foundation.

“It’s a true honor to be recognized by President Derrick Johnson and the NAACP, whose efforts to propel racial justice and civil rights are as vital today as they were nearly 115 years ago,” said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in a statement. “We’re proud to support the NAACP’s work and to also partner with the organization on the newly created annual NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, which will be bestowed to Dr. Safiya Noble as part of the 53rd NAACP Image Awards.”

[From THR]

Dr. Noble authored Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism, which Harry and Meghan have both referenced in their speeches and work in recent years, and they interviewed her (via video-conference) for a Times Talk. As for Harry and Meghan… they’re going to get a lot of respect and love in that room, but y’all know there will be jokes too. Mostly about Harry is one of the few white men in the room. I imagine Image Awards host Anthony Anderson already has a list of jokes specific to Harry, his red hair and his racist family. Whew, this is going to be GOOD. I can already imagine Dan Wootton collapsing on the floor from all of the “wokeness.” Because Wootton uses “woke” as a not-so-subtle dog whistle to mean “Black.”

The 53rd NAACP Image Awards will honor humanitarians, global leaders, and co-founders of Archewell, Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, with the prestigious President’s Award. The President’s Award is presented in recognition of distinguished public service. pic.twitter.com/pCZcG5p3Tg

— NAACP Image Awards® (@naacpimageaward) February 24, 2022