Awards

As the nation's oldest civil rights organization, we remain a fixture in fighting for civil rights and social justice for all. Through our annual awards we highlight the achievements of individuals and our branches, trailblazers who are actively on the front lines driving progress in business, law, education, and other sectors. In honoring their work and commitment, we aim to further the legacy of our organization, while championing future generations of civil rights leaders.

The Bill Lucy Legacy Award is presented to individuals or organizations in recognition of exceptional commitment to the principles of social and economic justice, labor rights, and community empowerment. Named in honor of inaugural recipient, Bill Lucy, this award recognizes those who have significantly advanced labor and civil rights through advocacy, leadership, and innovative practices.
Recipients of the Bill Lucy Legacy Award embody the spirit and dedication that Bill Lucy exemplified throughout his career. They have made outstanding contributions to improving the lives of workers, fostering solidarity within the labor movement, and advocating for policies that promote equality and fairness. This award celebrates the enduring impact of their work and their unwavering dedication to building a just and equitable society for all.
2026 Recipient:
- Everett Kelley
- Elizabeth Powell
William Robert Ming was born on May 7, 1911 in Chicago, Illinois and was one of the architects of the strategy leading to the historic decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and other landmark decisions. The Ming Award was created by the NAACP National Board of Directors in April 1974 and is awarded annually to a lawyer who exemplifies the spirit of financial and personal sacrifice that Mr. Ming displayed in his legal work for NAACP.
- The Honorable Keith M. Ellison
The Montague Cobb Health Advocacy award was established to honor individuals and organizations that have made a significant impact in the field of health. This award shall be given annually in recognition of the legacy of Dr. W. Montague Cobb, who served as the President of the NAACP from 1976 to 1983.
2026 Recipients:
- Dr. Cato Laurencin
- Senator Arthur C. Ellis
- Dr. Christian Williams-Brown
- Dr. Michelle Morse
- Gloria Willingham Touré, PhD
- Vincent J. Glover Jr.
- Ed Dwight
First instituted in 1914 by the late J.E. Spingarn–then NAACP Chairman of the Board of Directors– this gold medal was awarded for the highest or noblest achievement by an American Negro during the preceding year or years.
Recipients:
- Ernest Everett Just (1915)
- Charles Young (1916)
- Harry Thacker Burleigh (1917)
- William Stanley Braithwaite (1918)
- Archibald Henry Grimké (1919)
- W.E.B. Du Bois (1920)
- Charles S. Gilpin (1921)
- Mary Burnett Talbert (1922)
- George Washington Carver (1923)
- Roland Hayes (1924)
- James Weldon Johnson (1925)
- Carter G. Woodson (1926)
- Anthony Overton (1927)
- Charles W. Chesnutt (1928)
- Mordecai W. Johnson (1929)
- Henry Alexander Hunt (1930)
- Richard B. Harrison (1931)
- Robert Russa Moton (1932)
- Max Yergan (1933)
- William T.B. Williams (1934)
- Mary McLeod Bethune (1935)
- John Hope (1936)
- Walter White (1937)
- Marian Anderson (1939)
- Louis T. Wright (1940)
- Richard Wright (1941)
- A. Philip Randolph (1942)
- William H. Hastie (1943)
- Charles Richard Drew (1944)
- Paul Robeson (1945)
- Thurgood Marshall (1946)
- Percy Julian (1947)
- Channing H. Tobias (1948)
- Ralph Bunche (1949)
- Charles Hamilton Houston (1950)
- Mabel Keaton Staupers (1951)
- Harry T. Moore (1952)
- Paul R. Williams (1953)
- Theodore K. Lawless (1954)
- Carl Murphy (1955)
- Jackie Robinson (1956)
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1957)
- Daisy Bates and the Little Rock Nine (1958)
- Duke Ellington (1959)
- Langston Hughes (1960)
- Kenneth Bancroft Clark (1961)
- Robert C. Weaver (1962)
- Medgar Evers (1963)
- Roy Wilkins (1964)
- Leontyne Price (1965)
- John H. Johnson (1966)
- Edward Brooke (1967)
- Sammy Davis Jr. (1968)
- Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. (1969)
- Jacob Lawrence (1970)
- Leon H. Sullivan (1971)
- Gordon Parks (1972)
- Wilson C. Riles (1973)
- Damon Keith (1974)
- Hank Aaron (1975)
- Alvin Ailey Jr. (1976)
- Alex Haley (1977)
- Andrew Young (1978)
- Rosa Parks (1979)
- Rayford W. Logan (1980)
- Coleman Young (1981)
- Benjamin E. Mays (1982)
- Lena Horne (1983)
- Tom Bradley (1984)
- Bill Cosby (1985)
- Benjamin L. Hooks (1986)
- Percy Ellis Sutton (1987)
- Frederick Douglass Patterson (1988)
- Jesse Jackson (1989)
- Douglas Wilder (1990)
- Colin Powell (1991)
- Barbara Jordan (1992)
- Dorothy Height (1993)
- Maya Angelou (1994)
- John Hope Franklin (1995)
- A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. (1996)
- Carl Rowan (1997)
- Myrlie Evers-Williams (1998)
- Earl G. Graves Sr. (1999)
- Oprah Winfrey (2000)
- Vernon Jordan (2001)
- John Lewis (2002)
- Constance Baker Motley (2003)
- Robert L. Carter (2004)
- Oliver Hill (2005)
- Ben Carson (2006)
- John Conyers Jr. (2007)
- Ruby Dee (2008)
- Julian Bond (2009)
- Cicely Tyson (2010)
- Frankie Muse Freeman (2011)
- Harry Belafonte (2012)
- Jessye Norman (2013)
- Quincy Jones (2014)
- Sidney Poitier (2015)
- Nathaniel R. Jones (2016)
- Willie Brown (2018)
- Patrick Gaspard (2019)
- Cato T. Laurencin (2021)
- Jim Clyburn (2022)
- Hazel Dukes (2023)
- Henry Louis Gates Jr. (2024)
- Kamala Harris (2025)
- Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown (2026)
The Thalheimer Award is the NAACP's top award given to branches and units for outstanding achievements. The honors have been given annually since 1944 from a grant from Dr. Ross Thalheimer, a Johns Hopkins University instructor in philosophy and a University of Washington instructor in philosophy and Sociology.
2026 Recipients:
- PROGRAMS
  - CLASS I.A
    - First Place: Dayton Branch
    - Second Place: Hillsborough Branch
    - Third Place: Washington, D.C. Branch
  - CLASS I.B
    - First Place: Gary Branch
    - Second Place: Jacksonville Branch
    - Third Place: Fairfax County Branch
  - CLASS I.C
    - First Place: Hartford County Branch
    - Second Place: Long Beach County Branch
    - Third Place: Hanover County Branch
  - CLASS 1.D
    - First Place: Jacksonville Branch
    - Second Place: NY City Housing Authority Branch
    - Third Place: Killeen Branch
  - CLASS III
    - First Place: California-Hawaii State Conference
    - Second Place: Tennessee State Conference
    - Third Place: Connecticut State Conference
- PUBLICATIONS
  - CLASS I
    - First Place: Dayton Branch
    - Second Place: Washington, D.C. Branch
    - Third Place: Hillsborough Branch
  - CLASS II:
    - First Place: Fairfax County Branch
    - Second Place: Hanover County Branch
    - Third Place: Jacksonville (AR) Branch
  - CLASS III
    - First Place: California-Hawaii State Conference
    - Second Place: Tennessee State Conference
    - Third Place: Arkansas State Conference
2025 Recipient:
- Reverend Dr. Regena Thomas
2025 Recipient:
- Kiah Duggins
- Karine Jean-Pierre
- Carlos King
- Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective
- California-Hawaii State Conference

2026 William "Bill" Lucy Legacy Award

2026 Dr. Annie B. Martin Leadership Award

2026 William Robert Ming Advocacy Award

2026 Dr. William Montague Cobb Award

2026 Distinguished Veteran Lifetime Achievement Award

Spingarn Medal

Thalheimer Award

Dr. Annie B. Martin Leadership Award

W.I.N. Award

2025 Pride Freedom Trailblazer Award

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