We are thrilled to announce that UNLADYLIKE2020 has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Short Form Series – Reality/Nonfiction category!

The theme for the Image Awards in 2021 is “A Celebration of Our Stories and Our Excellence in Entertainment,” as the NAACP Image Awards honor the accomplishments of BIPOC artists across TV, music, film and literature. The award ceremony will be simulcast LIVE across all ViacomCBS Networks including BET, CBS, and MTV on Saturday, March 27th at 8 pm EST. 

UNLADYLIKE2020 is distinguished because of the series’ innovative, comprehensive, and culturally sensitive treatment of seven notable African American women: Charlotta Spears Bass – a crusading newspaper editor, civil rights champion, and the first African American woman to run for Vice President in the U.S; Gladys Bentley – a Harlem Renaissance gender-bending and trend-setting performer; Bessie Coleman – the first African American woman aviator; Meta Warrick Fuller – the first African American woman to receive a federal art commission; Sissieretta Jones – an opera star and the first African American woman to headline a concert at Carnegie Hall; Mary Church Terrell – a co-founder of the NAACP, trailblazing civil rights activist, and the first African American woman to serve on a U.S. school board; and Maggie Lena Walker – the first African American woman bank president. The series features a total of 26 history makers – documenting the role of 15 women of color, especially Black women, in the building of this nation. 

UNLADYLIKE2020 executive producer, director, and writer Sandra Rattley noted that she and series creator Charlotte Mangin value this recognition from the NAACP and hope that the series’ digital content will be incorporated into educational settings throughout the country so that young people, especially youth of color, become aware of the precedent-setting Black women on whose shoulders they stand. Rattley stated, “The project expands the narrative of America by providing access to the stories of Black women who contended with severe racism and discrimination, in addition to sexism, but are typically missing from our documented and taught history – some would say erased. We are proud to exhume and elevate the lives and accomplishments of Black women who accomplished amazing feats and acts of heroism more than 100 years ago – that changed the course of history and our lives.” Co-executive producer, director, and writer Mangin added, “UNLADYLIKE2020 is designed so that audiences of all ages can learn about, and connect with inspiring, courageous women who, like pilot Bessie Coleman “refused to take no for an answer,” as well as to acknowledge and honor members of their own families and communities that continue the “unladylike” tradition of making change happen.”

Also named in the NAACP’s Outstanding Short Form Series – Reality/Nonfiction category with Unladylike2020 is another PBS American Masters series of digital shorts, In The Making (Stanley Nelson), as well as Benedict Men (Quibi) produced by Golden State Warriors basketball guard, Stephen Curry; Between The Scenes – The Daily Show, short to-camera segments produced by Trevor Noah (Comedy Central); and the Inspire Change Series (NFL Network).