The ceremony was filmed on Feb. 17 but wasn’t broadcast on BET until Wednesday night.
“I’m so grateful that ABFF, which is actually the first festival to have my work online, continues to remember us when so many people tend to forget us,” Rae said.
Denzel Washington, Queen Latifah and Terrence Howard were among the night’s other top honorees, receiving the coveted Hollywood Legacy, Entertainment Icon, and Excellence in the Arts awards, respectively.
Director F. Gary Gray also took home an Excellence in the Arts award.
“The show is wonderful because it’s not about winning,” Hall told The Times afterward. “It’s just a night that’s really focused on celebrating and honoring.
It’s always great to celebrate artists of color so everyone is conscious of their value.”
There was a lot of star power in the room, including Cicely Tyson, Pharrell Williams, Common, Morris Chestnut, Trevante Rhodes (“Moonlight”) and Viola Davis, who presented Washington with his award.
“My mother used to say when I was a kid, ‘Boy, the older you get, the older you get. Not any wiser, but older,’ ” the Oscar-winning actor said to a huge laugh from the crowd. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I’m truly honored to be honored.”
Other big winners of the night included the 1997 film “Love Jones,” which was celebrated for being the ultimate black love classic, and the cast of “Queen Sugar,” which took home the award for television show of the year.
