‘Hidden Figures,’ Henson among top NAACP Image Award winners
LOS ANGELES — “Hidden Figures” and Taraji P. Henson had a big night at the NAACP Image Awards, where Hollywood glamour shared the stage with sombre remarks from the director of Washington’s new African-American museum.
“Hidden Figures,” the fact-based drama about the contributions of black female mathematicians to the U.S. space program, won the award for best movie Saturday, while star Henson was honoured as best actress.
“There are roles you accept that scare you. And this one did, because I failed math,” said Henson, recalling that she grew up in a time when math and science were supposed to be “just for boys.”
“I made it my mission to do this film. This film was very important. It was bigger than me. … People are seeing it because it’s important,” she said.