INTERVIEW: Deon Cole, Derrick Johnson & Louis Carr Talk NAACP Awards, Accountability, Community + More

Summary

The Breakfast Club – INTERVIEW: Deon Cole, Derrick Johnson & Louis Carr Talk NAACP Awards, Accountability, Community + More

Date: January 13, 2026
Podcast: The Breakfast Club (iHeartPodcasts)
Hosts: DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God
Guests: Deon Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host), Derrick Johnson (NAACP President), Louis Carr (BET President)

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Overview

This vibrant and wide-ranging episode celebrates the 57th NAACP Image Awards, offering an in-depth conversation about Black excellence, ownership, community empowerment, and current cultural challenges. The hosts are joined by three influential figures—Deon Cole (comedian and NAACP Awards host), Derrick Johnson (NAACP President), and Louis Carr (recently appointed BET President)—for an insightful discussion that touches on modernizing Black media, cultural accountability, intergenerational relationships, advocacy strategies, and navigating visibility in a changing media landscape.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The NAACP Image Awards: Purpose and Evolution

• The guests discuss the upcoming 57th NAACP Image Awards and the importance of celebrating Black achievements across media, arts, and community activism.

• Continuity in Hosting
  Derrick Johnson credits Deon Cole for bringing energy and humor:

  "He's funny, he's good. It was a lively show, and it's important to have some continuity." (03:51)

• BET’s Role and Partnership
  Louis Carr explains the deep relationship between BET and the NAACP:

  "We were built on culture at the end of the day. So we're going to be one of the drivers of culture and holding it up and continuing. And that's why we are in partnership with the NAACP and my homeboy, Deon Cole." (04:36)

2. Modernizing BET and Reinforcing Cultural Ownership

• Carr outlines his first major initiative: to reestablish BET as a source of pride and relevance.

  “BET is something you can believe in. We really want people to sort of gravitate and understand that they do have some ownership in this. ... We serve our community.” (05:27)

• DJ Envy and Charlamagne question how BET will bridge technological disruption (e.g., streaming) and re-center authentic Black stories:

  “Now we've got to sort of change our ways and really become more focused on the consumer. And consumer is not just a cable brand.” (06:00)

• On advertiser relationships and maintaining authenticity:

  "We have to understand what advertisers are looking for and then understand where our audience is and how we partner to make it work for both places... The NAACP Image Awards is a great example. You'll see integrations in that show in a very, very special and unique way." (06:34)

3. Self-Investment and Accountability in the Black Community

• Derrick Johnson underscores that valuing and investing in Black institutions is essential:

  "We gotta invest in our own. And as an organization, we have invested and we continue to have the show year after year." (07:24)

• On the 2026 Awards theme, “We See You”:

  "This current political climate is one in which they're trying to erase who we are as a culture, as a people. And so we have to see ourselves ... speak from a surplus mindset and get away from caring about what white folks who don't care about us anyway..." (07:40)

• The ongoing efforts to maintain representation and impact despite industry shifts and political challenges.

4. Political Climate: Advocacy, Voting, and Collective Action

• The NAACP’s ongoing legal and grassroots battles are highlighted, especially regarding voter redistricting and civil rights:

  "Absolutely, we're fighting. But the election have consequences. ... We know who the enemy are. ... It's about all black folks need to get out and vote. Because if we don't, our citizenship, our human essence in this country is at risk." (09:43)

• On rethinking the advocacy playbook:

  "The medium age of our community is 30 years old. Things have already been rethought and rethought again. We are constantly evolving." (10:26)

5. Intergenerational Dialogue & Cultural Education

• Deon Cole addresses misunderstandings about his comments to younger influencers like Kai, emphasizing corrective criticism as care, not hate:

  "With this generation nowadays, corrective criticism is considered hate. It's not hate... My job was to go, hey little brother, check this out. Do that." (13:32)

• Derrick Johnson reframes supposed problems as opportunities for learning:

  "One of the things we must do as a community is learn from past mistakes. Cause we got new ones to make." (15:26)

6. Handling Public Controversies and Representation

• Dion Cole and Derrick Johnson discuss unequal public standards for Black celebrities apologizing or being held to account, compared to other communities:

  Dion: “When people talk bad about us, why isn't there's nobody to answer to? Why is that?” (27:48)
  Johnson: "Far too often we're reacting because the team around us don't look like us. ... If you have people surrounding you that look like us, ... the advice you're getting becomes even more crucial." (28:57)

• The need for Black professionals in legal, management, and advisory roles for Black talent is stressed.

7. BET, Ownership & Authenticity

• Addressing criticism that BET isn’t Black-owned:

  "It's not black owned, but it is black run. ... 90 some percent of the people who run BET look like us. ... There's a team of leadership there that ... our community needs to know..." (35:03)

8. The NAACP’s History – Myths vs. Reality

• Derrick Johnson educates on the racial context of the NAACP’s founding:

  "People who we think are white today, they were not considered white in 1909. ... Black folks created NAACP with the Niagara Movement, ... but [it] was started by a group of people who were 'other'." (36:20)

9. The Power of Joy and Laughter in Advocacy

• Derrick Johnson and Louis Carr express the necessity of joy and laughter as tools of resilience and empowerment:

  "Joy and laughter is also advocacy. You know, art is advocacy." (26:23)

• Deon Cole shares his philosophy on centering peace and authenticity for all guests, famous or not:

  “Everybody come to just ease their mind... My room at the Improv ... you can come in there, have a good time. Ain't nobody gonna record you... So people's know that. ... I'm not gonna waver the way that I am." (20:06)

10. Looking Forward: New Initiatives and Community Investment

• Derrick Johnson announces new NAACP platforms (including podcasting and a $200 million venture capital fund) to support Black-owned projects and voices:

  “We just launched NAACP is a platform for podcasts, short form media... We just launched a venture capital fund so we can reinvest in our communities. A $200 million raise.” (44:49)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Pop Culture and Identity:
  Johnson: “We have to see ourselves and speak from a surplus mindset and get away from caring about what white folks who don't care about us anyway...” (07:40)

• On Responsibility:
  Carr: “BET is something you can believe in. ... They do have some ownership in this. ... Because we serve the culture and we serve our community.” (05:27)

• On Apologizing/Public Redemption:
  Johnson: "Sometimes you do need to apologize because if I made an offensive comment towards black women, y'all would be upside my head... but you need to do it in a way in which you're not demeaning yourself, ... that you're not betraying the essence of who you are." (33:39)

• On Black Advisory Power:
  Johnson: "Far too often we're reacting because the team around us don't look like us... The agent ain't one of us. The manager is not us. The lawyer is not us." (28:57)

• Deon Cole’s comedic signature:
  Cole: “Can you make sure everybody hairline ain't super crispy on the show?” (35:39)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction of Guests & NAACP Image Awards (03:05–04:14)
• BET’s New Era & Community Focus (04:14–06:34)
• The Disruption of Black Cultural Ownership (05:40–06:34)
• Invest in Our Own Institutions (07:08–08:51)
• NAACP’s Current Advocacy Battles (09:27–10:59)
• Intergenerational Learning, Kai & Corrective Criticism (13:08–15:51)
• BET and Black Ownership Discussion (35:03–36:13)
• NAACP's History Clarified (36:13–37:59)
• Nominee Categories & Selection Process (37:59–41:53)
• Community Exhaustion & Need for Political Engagement (43:02–44:49)
• NAACP's New Initiatives (44:49–45:13)

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Additional Highlights

• Behind the Image Awards: The week-long suite of events includes everything from a golf tournament to honoring literary and visual artists.
• Podcast Culture: Deon Cole’s podcast and its role in contemporary Black cultural conversation.
• Celebrity Advocacy: The need for more publicized accountability when other communities are targeted/offended, not just the Black community.
• Art & Joy as Advocacy: Both humor and celebration are positioned as vital strategies for surviving and thriving amid sociopolitical adversity.
• Future Visions: Expansion into podcasts, digital content, and investment funds signal new directions for Black-led institutions.

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Conclusion

This candid episode combines laughter, philosophy, and practical advice. It focuses on the ongoing struggle for representation and ownership, calls for greater intergenerational connection, and urges continued investment in Black-led platforms. Listeners are left with both a blueprint and an inspiration for reinforcing accountability, reclaiming narratives, and pushing for collective advancement in 2026 and beyond.

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For listeners who missed the episode, this summary serves as both an engaging recap and a resource for understanding the ongoing evolution of Black excellence, advocacy, and media power.

Transcript

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

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[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

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[DJ Envy]

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[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

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[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

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[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

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[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Hold up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Every day I wake up.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Wake your ass up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

The Breakfast Club. Do y' all finish or y' all done?

[DJ Envy]

Morning, everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious. Charlemagne, the guy. We are the Breakfast Club. Lauren laros is here with us as well. We got some special guests in the building.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes, indeed.

[DJ Envy]

We got the good brother, Dion Cole.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Welcome back.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Hey. Thank you.

[DJ Envy]

We have Derek Johnson, president of the naacp. Welcome back, brother.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Good morning.

[DJ Envy]

And we have the president of bet, the new president of bet, Lewis Carr.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Welcome, brother.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

Thank you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Good morning.

[DJ Envy]

How y' all feeling this morning, man?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

Great.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Great.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Y' all running around for the 57th NAACP Image Awards.

[DJ Envy]

RBET.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

Mm.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How does that feel?

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

It's gonna be great, man. It's gonna be good. We're gonna be doing our thing, you know, another year, another blessing, right, Dion?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Like, I'm just here so I don't get. Fine.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Y' all decided to use Dion again.

[DJ Envy]

What was so good about Dion? You said we gotta bring the.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

I mean, he's funny, he's good. It was a lively show, and it's important to have some continuity. I. Anthony Anderson. What, six, seven years? We had the queen. Unfortunately, we didn't get her the next year, and Deion just stepped in, and it's been a great show.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And congratulations to you, Lewis Carr. Man, you know, you can't ignore the elephant in the room. Salute to our guy, Scott Mills. But, you know, he's no longer the president of bet. You are now. How did that feel?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

It's amazing. It's been a hell of a journey, and it's a privilege. It's a big job, and we're just trying to take BET to the next era. We call it the new era. And it's exciting, but it's a privilege.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What does modernizing BET actually mean to you? Is it about platform? Is it about programming? Is it about mindset? Like, what is it?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

It's about all of that, and it's about community and culture. I don't think any brand that is serving black people right now, they have to lean into the community, especially what's going on in our country right now, whether it's political, whether it's economic. So we're really going to lean into community. And we were built on culture at the end of the day. So we're going to be one of the drivers of culture and holding it up and continuing. And that's why we are in partnership with the naacp and my homeboy, Dion Cole. This is my homeboy, so it's a real privilege to meet.

[DJ Envy]

What's your first initiative besides this, of course. What's the first initiative that BET wants to do with you being the new president?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

My first initiative is reestablishing. BET is the brand that people are proud of. Uh, so the first thing I've done is we have an internal slogan that may go public, since I'm gonna say it right now.

[DJ Envy]

Okay.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

BET is something you can believe in. We really want people to sort of gravitate and understand that they do have some ownership in this. They do have some responsibility in this, because we serve the culture and we serve our community.

[DJ Envy]

What do you think that was lost if you do. You know, I remember as a kid, you know, I think everybody would come home from school, you're turning on BET, and not just for 106 and park and those shows, but there's so many shows around the realm that people would love about bet, and I think we lost that a little bit. It didn't become ours anymore. So what.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

What.

[DJ Envy]

What do you think the reason is that we got away from that?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

I think technology. I think there was a disruption in technology. You know, we were primarily a cable brand at that particular time. And, you know, whether it is the Internet or whether it's streaming, it sort of interrupted everything that we were doing. So now we've got to sort of change our ways and really become more focused on the consumer. And consumer is not just a cable brand.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And, Louis, you come from a background in advertising.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Yes.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Right. And brand relationships. How. How do you plan to leverage advertisers basically, to get that money?

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Right.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And how do you plan to leverage advertisers and brand partners without, I guess, compromising the authenticity for black storytellers?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

Well, one of the things that I think we have to understand is what advertisers are looking for and then understand where our audience is and how we sort of partner to make it work for both places. So that's something I've done constantly. The NAACP Image Awards is a great example. You'll see integrations in that show in a very, very special and unique way. So I think I got that down.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How y' all still paying for the NAACP Awards. Other award shows is what I'm after, but NAACP Awards are still here.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

I think NAACP 57 years. We do have a formula. We have been on air. We will continue to be on air. In fact, we've expanded to an NAACP Image Awards week. We start off with a golf tournament. We have a fashion show. We do all the things that really highlight black excellence. We can no longer sit back and react to what other platforms do against us and not include us. We gotta invest in our own. And as an organization, we have invested and we continue to have the show year after year.

[DJ Envy]

This year's theme is, we see you break that down a little bit.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Well, yeah. This current political climate is one in which they're trying to erase who we are as a culture, as a people. And so we have to see ourselves. What frustrates me more than anything else is we're caring about what the Oscars say about us and who the Grammy included did include. We got to invest in our own. We have to see ourselves and speak from a surplus mindset and get away from caring about what white folks who don't care about us anyway, but they're saying what they're doing when we have our own.

[DJ Envy]

Does it bother you any when you see a lot of these celebrities go to those other award shows but don't come to the home shows? Does that bother you any?

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Well, you know, it bothers me, but it don't. Because then they get in trouble. Then they come back and say, hey, we want to be back a part of this man. Right? I'm an HBCU graduate. There's nothing better than our black cottages. What school? Tougaloo Cottage. 5 olds. We all know each other, right? We're not like Hampton. We all know each other, right? In Mississippi. But if we invest in our own, our schools become better. I'm in the middle of a book now by ncrumer. He went to Lincoln, and his experience at Lincoln allowed him to become the first president of Ghana. Why? Because Thurgood Marshall was there. He ran across Ralph Ellison. He had all of the integration of black intelligence, not only in the United States, but globally. We have to do the same thing for our platforms.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

Were you guys, when you announced bet, when you guys announced that you were going to be stepping away from those other award shows? And I remember, like, the messaging got a little bit lost where some things are going to go to digital, right? So it's not fully out of it, but were you guys nervous about adding negatively to that conversation of BET's decline when you decided to make that decision?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

Absolutely. And I think we said, they're on Pause. So it may be something different coming soon. So just stand by so they're not gone. They just may be on pause. We've been in conversation about at least bringing one back over the last few weeks.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

You can't tell us which one yet?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

No, not yet.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I want to ask you that because you mentioned it. Like Trump, the Trump administration has been open about attacking dei, black history, civil rights language. Is the NAACP fighting to preserve those gains from the past or is this moment forcing the NAACP to completely rethink?

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Well, absolutely fight. We are in. I can't name the number of court cases, many of which we've already won. Whether it's a redistricting case in Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, whether or not we put boots on the ground in California for the referendum, whether or not we're strategizing in Maryland and Virginia around that redistricting. Absolutely, we're fighting. But the election have consequences. And platforms like this, we cannot send missed messages. We gotta be clear that this November we gotta turn out and vote. We know who the enemy are. We know how they look. It is not black men is doing this or not doing that. It's about all black folks need to get out and vote. Because if we don't, our citizenship, our human essence in this country is at risk.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Mm.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Is there any way to rethink? Rethink the playbook?

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Always. I mean, you know, add into the conversation in a way in which we can reconsider things. The medium age of our community is 30 years old. Things have already been rethought and rethought again. We are constantly evolving. That's why next month we're 117 year old organization. We're solvent, we're strong, and we're continuing to fight. We have to get out of black folks saying, well, this group isn't doing this one or this group should do that one. Hell, pick up a shovel and get a scoop and help all of us get to where we need to be. Because if we're stronger as an organization, we're stronger as a community.

[DJ Envy]

Now, you posted something on your social media page that was very powerful. Right. It was a half face of KKK clan member and half face of an ICE member. Break that down. What that preacher meant.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

If you understand the history of this country, the Klan reemerged in the 20s. They were able to reemerge through law enforcement starting in Indiana. They spread across the country. What we're seeing with the ICE operation now is they're recruiting white supremacists to come into the agency and go in and terrorize communities. Now, let's not be fooled and think it's all. All about the Latin know it's us, too. When they're in. When they're in Minneapolis and they're pulling over brothers and sisters from Sudanese, from Sudan, they look like us. They look like all of us around this table. So it's one group today, it's another one tomorrow. It is us after that. We have to stand up. So what we're looking at is Klan activity masquerading as ice agents.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Dion, what makes you want to host.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

NAACP award as a black comic?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

The.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

I shouldn't be here. I don't have no turtleneck. I don't know why I'm here. I don't know. We're just gonna have a good time at the show. I don't know what I'm gonna do. It's gonna be off cuff. We just. Whatever, man.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hey, you know what I love about you, though, Dion, man? Some comedians, they just get louder as they get older. You got sharper.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Thank you.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Was that intentional or did just, like, life strip away all the noise?

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Yeah, I just.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

You.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

I just don't have the energy to be hollering and doing a whole bunch of stuff. I think less is more. You know, being more in the pocket when it comes to comedy is, you know, my forte and how I get down, you know, I want to be heard and not seen. You could be heard softly. You could be heard, you know, loudly or whatever. But I like to just, you know, stay in the pocket with what I do, you know, and it keeps me distant from what the norm is.

[DJ Envy]

We had a conversation a couple of months ago about you, Dion, when you were talking about Kai, and we were talking about the younger generation and the older generation, and you were saying you said something to the fact of. I don't want to misquote you, that you feel like the young generation should do their homework on some of the legends. And we were saying that sometimes it's very difficult because if they don't know the individuals, it's very difficult. But you felt the way that he didn't necessarily know who you are.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Yeah, well, it wasn't. And that's. I think everybody twisted and made it seem like. I was trying to say he didn't know who I was. And I said over and over again. I was like, I. It wasn't even about me. It was just about him having that platform to showcase these icons and let his generation know who these people are. And I was like, you don't have to know everybody, because I don't know everybody. And my whole thing was at least know the winners, you know what I mean? Right, Right. If you can know who won, that's good enough. You know what I mean? So do your homework and not just walk around like that. And I love that little brother. I think he dope. I think he is innovative and all of that. I just feel as though that with this. With this generation. Nowadays, corrective criticism is considered hate. And it's not hate. It's like, what am I going to do? Just let you keep doing what you going to do and then let it keep getting worse and worse and worse. Like the situations that have happened now in certain things, whatever. So my job was to go, hey, little brother, check this out. Do that. And everybody spent it, or whatever. But hopefully he heard it, you know? But then a little bit after that, I think he was actually going through stuff, you know what I mean? So what I was saying was maybe it was something on his mind or heart or whatever, but I felt like I did my job by saying what it is and he went to go get help and all of that. You get what I mean? Because you never know what nobody's going through. So I have to say what I have to say and then go from there. You know what I mean? So, you know, much love to that brother. I love that little brother.

[DJ Envy]

You think it's a problem in our community? This is for all y', all, that we don't necessarily do the research of where things started from. Like, if you go to a young rapper today, he might not know the first rap came from the Bronx and it came from this sound. Or different comedians. If you were in the comedy world, who this comedian is, how they started this, or even radio or of the first hip hop station and how it started. Do you feel like that's the problem in our community?

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

I think it's an opportunity. I don't think it's a problem. I mean, when you're trying to build on your craft, you focus, you zeroed in, and you don't know when you're gonna hit. But once you hit, it's an opportunity to begin to expand so you don't fall into the same potholes. One of the things we must do as a community is learn from past mistakes. Cause we got new ones to make. And the only way we do that is to understand.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I like that one.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

That's TJ to me right there.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, I ain't never right.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

You know, you learn from past mistakes, because we got new ones. And in that moment, it gives the opportunity to not only perfect your craft, but to grow the craft. And so that's an opportunity, not a deficit.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

I think a part of the conversation with the Kai stuff, though, for people who are in, like, a learning space is like, do y' all ever have a chance to have those conversations with him privately, like you said? You hope he heard what you said. So you guys haven't been able to talk in private?

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

No, I haven't been able to talk to him in private. I would have loved to, but I didn't reach out because it was just going so bananas. I just was like, yo, if you want to talk, he'll reach out, but I ain't want to go, hey, this is what it meant, you know? But I would love to talk to that brother. I remember I did. I did something with Marlon Wayne's. And Marlon said that he had talked to him, and he. He said he was like, man, man, called a little brother and tell him and tell him, like, you know, you. You. You cool or whatever, and. And I never got his number, whatever. But Marlon did talk to him, and, you know, I. I don't really know what the outcome was, but Marlon was like, yo, just call him. And I never did. So I don't have his information, even reaching out on IG or whatever. I just didn't. But I will. I'll reach out to him and be like, hey, hit me up. You know, let's talk about it. I love, like, how you always. Dion, just like, for me, knowing you always, like, wrap your arms around people or just always speak about people in a positive light, even when those people.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

Are, you know, under public scrutiny or whatever. Like, you had. I just seen, like, a few weeks.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Ago, you had Kanye at your show.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Yeah.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

And how you brought him up on stage and just, like, the room just love seeing him there.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

And you let me.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Y' all from the same city, so.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

It'S like, you know, I love that.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

What?

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Did. Did you know he was gonna be there?

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Yeah.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

Yeah, man.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Shout out to my man John. John was like, man, we had. Me and John and no id. We had dinner the night before with some friends, and Ye hit up John and was. John was telling him, man, we had a good conversation. We was talking about some stuff, and Ye was like, man, when the next time y' all meeting and I want to go out? He was like, dean, I got a show tomorrow. You want to go? And he was like, all my family in town for the holidays. And he was like, if I can bring him. They hit me. I was like, yeah, tell them to come through. You know, how many you got? He was like, 25. Jesus hands.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

He said, family.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Mind you, my room is only 40 seats. So he had to bring in couches and crates and all kinds of stuff. But, yeah, he came in and he brought in all 25. His people, his wife and everybody came in. He had a great time because he needed that. You know what I mean? It was a. You know, it's a lot of weight on him, you know? And when it comes to these situations, I feel like. Like when we dealing with one of our own or whatever, I feel like, personally, we shouldn't let everybody get on them. Like. Like, we can get on them, but when everybody else start getting on them, we go, all right, well, y' all relax. Yeah, we'll take care of him, you know? And so it was for me to be like, come on out. I'm. Come have a good time. Relax your mind, you know? And I go from there. Whatever. I wasn't even supposed to bring them on, you know, I brought. Bring him on the stage. But I was like, forget that.

[DJ Envy]

You got pressure.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I agree with that to a certain extent, but.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

And what you mean?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What part? What are you saying?

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

But take care of our own.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But yay, yay, yay was. Yay. Pokes it. His own community, too.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

I get it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know?

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Get it. I get it. I get he does. But, I mean, what are you gonna do? I just. I don't want to see nobody get kicked while they down. You know what I mean? And so once they keep kicking while he down, it's like, all right, that. That's what I mean. When they keep kicking the white down, it's like he got the message. Yeah, quit kicking him. You know what I mean?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I have been interested to see what his mindset is, because we haven't heard from him. He's been quiet for about a year.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Yeah, his man, I'm telling you, where he at? He's just like, man, I'm gonna put some music out. I'm gonna do what I do. I'm gonna go back to the essence. I'm about to make it soulful. I'm about to make it fun, you know, I'm about to get it in. And that's where he at with it. He like, man, I'm just gonna keep doing me and, you know, whatever, whatever. But he's just chilling right now.

[DJ Envy]

So I was gonna ask, do you have any pressure when you have Like a Kanye at your show based than a regular show with no celebrities in it. Any pressure with you or.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

No.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Nah, not really. Nah, not at all. Like, I. I know why they there. You know, everybody come to just ease their mind and you know, the pressure, you know the pressure of this business, whatever, they just come to get away. Like, we had Paul McCartney at the show, you know, he just wanted to come. Just come hang out and kick it. You know, everybody come. My room at the Improv. I have a residency there, right? It's like maybe 50 people only. Tops. Everybody phone locked up. You can come in there, have a good time. Ain't nobody gonna record you, Ain't nobody gonna be looking at you. Whatever. You can have a good time. So people's know that. And so they come and they not filmed unless I'm filming them and then that's it, you know. But yeah, it's a good time.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

We.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

We have a lot of celebrities that come through there and just to get away.

[DJ Envy]

That's dope.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

But yeah, I. I ain't. I'm not gonna waver the way that I am. Even with Paul McCartney, I was putting them in the headlock.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

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[Sponsor Announcer]

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[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

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[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

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[DJ Envy]

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[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

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[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

R O punching them, you know, because he got me high and I ain't wanting, I ain't want to get high. So it's just us having, I mean making them feel normal, right? You know what I mean? Like, most people walk around there. Sir Paul. Sir Paul. You know, I'm in there, like calling them P. P Love and all kinds of stuff. Just anything just to make them feel normal.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, you started to say Diddy a little bit.

[DJ Envy]

I wanted to ask you, you know, with this experience, success of the New Edition documentary, why doesn't BET do more of those documentaries highlighting our. Our heroes?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

We're looking at that. We are looking at that. The New Edition doc speaks for itself. It was very expensive. We're trying to figure out, did y'.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

All make the money back for that?

[DJ Envy]

Cause I figured I did or no. Okay, okay.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

It's very expensive.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You mean the movie, right?

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

The documentary.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

The four part.

[DJ Envy]

The four part documentary, yeah.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's a movie, though. That was a movie.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

It was all the above. Go ahead. Because it was a movie, but it.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Was in part Woody McLean and all of them.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

So we're looking at to figure out can we do it in a more efficient way. But there are many stories out there, as you know, that need to be told.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

How do you evolve a tent pole event like the NAACP Awards so they feel like less nostalgic and more and more like a reflection of where black culture is now? Well, I think I'm going next.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

I think Dion is the start of that. And I think the type of people that we celebrate, we honor have to be current and part of the culture right now. So I think always culture has to be current. So that's the evolution. And we also have to expand the distribution. So you'll see a lot of stuff online this year that you never saw before. So we'll be using all of the.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Platforms to sort of highlight and recognizing that we have over 60 categories. Only between 8 and 10 are aired live for the two hours. We have a dinner where we recognize, you know, social media content, the whole deal. The reason why Dion is important because joy and laughter is also advocacy. You know, art is advocacy. And so what most of people see is a two hour live broadcast, but a week of activities. The golf tournament kicks off, but then the real night where we get the most celebrities is the dinner. And that's when we honor all the categories from literary to, you name it. And it's a part of how we have evolved as an organization, how we've evolved in terms of this highlighting black excellence in the entertainment industry. Our next thing is visual arts. We have black artists in black galleries. We have to honor them because folks are taking up our art, elevating the prices, and we don't even own it. And so we got to get to that space where we own more of the content that we create. I have a question.

[DJ Envy]

You don't have to raise your hand.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Excuse me.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

I have a question I want to ask. I want to put nobody on Frustrate, but I do have a question. So I remember when Kanye got in trouble and Nick Cannon got in trouble, and they went and they talked to leaders of other races, Jewish communities, rabbis.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Rabbis, Yep.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

So when people talk bad about us, why isn't there's nobody to answer to? Why is that?

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Well, it all depends on the situation, the scenario. So when Nick Cannon got into his squad for Marva Smalls, who was at Prayer March, we.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And I love Marva. Love Marva.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Right. We immediately started talking, put together a strategy. He's back on air now. Right When Kyrie Irving got into the issues with the. With the Brooklyn team here, Isaiah Thomas and I, we got on the phone, we came up with a strategy. We got his agent, we got Kyrie on, and we began to talk about what is the pivot to save his career. So it all depends on the scenario and whether or not the individual's open enough to reach out.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But that wasn't the question Deion asked. What Deion said was, when other races do stuff to offend black people, who do they answer to? Who do they have to.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Who do other races answer to? Yeah, because.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Because when we. When we do something wrong, we have to go talk to the leaders of that race.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

But why do you have to do that? You don't have to do that.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

I'm just. I'm just. I'm only asking to what we say.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

I'm about to go out of a job.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

No, but it goes to the individual scenario. We shouldn't be answering to anybody.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

I understand that.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

So I'm going. Go to the Kyrie Irving piece. Right. So the blowback came, said, we want you to go to this museum. And that museum was like, but have you been to the African American museum? Have we gone and looked at our own stuff? How do we begin to react based on our narrative response and not somebody else's? Far too often we're reacting because the team around us don't look like us. That's been the problem. There are far too many of these same individuals. The agent ain't one of us. The manager is not us. The lawyer is not us. So what happens? Their advice is coming from their professionals who are moving them to communities. That's not us. But if you have people surrounding you that look like us, understand who we are, then the advice you're getting becomes even more crucial. So then you ask yourself, when you look at individual by individual, who's representing them, who's in their ear? Because far too many of our high A caliber celebrities, they leave us.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

So would you not have it?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I do like that question Dion asked, though, because I think people for so long have looked to the naacp, I guess, to be black people's version of like the adl.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

That's what.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

But by the way, the ADL is supposed to be black people's version of the adl. It's not. It's supposed to be anti defamation for, you know, black people, Jewish people and all. But I guess that's what people want the NAACP to be.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

We can only be what people. When you get to a certain status allow be like when you talk about all these folks, who's their lawyer? Is it black or white? Who's the agent who's representing them? That becomes the key because you all know this game much better than I, I do. In the isolation of the controversy, only those who have the ear are able to inform on how the move. I'm not going to mention one particular professional football player. We reached out, his team didn't even know who we were. And so we're trying to help, but the team don't even know who we are. So he can't come to us because he's all of 23 years old, Colin Kaepernick, and then his whole team, it doesn't look like us, don't understand the nature of what we do. And we still. I have yet to see this brother at a black event, but I think.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

That it should be publicized and I.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Didn'T say that you did.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

No, I think this should be publicized because it gives people, it makes people think like there is a consequence with what you say because it's never publicized that people. It's not like somebody can go on blackface or say something bad and then they come over and they go and they see them sitting down with you talking and, and, and you talking to them and going, you know, this is what you need to do. This, this is the forgiving them and all the rest of that. We never see that, but we see them, but we see our race.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

That has happened a couple times. I remember Jimmy Fallon.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Jimmy Fallon, yeah.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

He had the black face situation.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

After that.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I don't remember that.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

It was comments he made on the air.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

If I'm not mistaken, it was a blackface situation.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

That's what it was.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

Yeah, there was like, an old photo that surfaced. There's a whole list of people that have had to come to you guys and apologize and have conversations. But.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

But it goes to the. The Kiet example. Are we informing our young entertainers, hell, our peers about their representation? We're giving our money away. I just heard a narrative about Prince. Someone wanted to do his cover. So he says, I'm not gonna let you do that. Cause you don't own the rights of your son. I refuse to pay for these folks grandkids to go to college off of my material. The real question for the celebrity community, are we allowing ourselves to be pimped as we masquerade in blackface? Cause oftentimes that's what's happening. BET is a much stronger entity if more of our folks invest in it. NACP is a stronger advocate if more of our folks invest in it. My membership roster, those who support me, are everyday working people. That's a beautiful thing. That's who we represent. But we have to be honest about this conversation. At 360 degrees, are we investing in our young people who've gone to law school, who are at ad agencies who can actually do the thing and making sure we're repped by them?

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

I have a question, so. And it's going back to what you said about with Nick Cannon and Colin. Not Colin Kaepernick, Kyrie Irving. You said, why do you think that we have to go and apologize? Right? So when people come to you guys to have those conversations, to apologize, to do the whole dance and the tour. Why do you guys entertain the conversation if there are leaders like you in the NAACP who feel that way? Because I know Morgan Wylan did the same thing as well, too.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Well, first of all, we have to understand the historical nature so we don't offend people, whether you Black, white, male, female, whatever the case may be. And there are certain scenarios where we make mistakes. People make mistakes. And how do you get under that when you are actually relying on the public for your support? So sometimes you do apologize because if I made an offensive comment towards black women, y' all would be upside my head. I do need to pivot and apologize because if I made that mistake. But in doing so, you need to do it in a way in which you're not demeaning yourself, that you're not betraying the essence of who you are. And you can be honest that I made this mistake, you know, error. Learn from it and move forward. So sometimes you do have. We do need to apologize. But if you got a team that surrounded you that is not from our community, what happens there is you don't know who to apologize to properly, and you don't know what the apology look like. And then you have people saying, you gotta apologize. Plus you gotta donate to this thing over here, give money to that thing.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Over there to some people that ain't.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Gonna like you for the rest of your life anyway.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

And Hampton need that check. You don't sit at this museum when Hampton need that check or Howard needs that check.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That's interesting. You know, there's always criticism that BET isn't black owned. So how do you balance BET being part of a large corporate structure while still serving as a platform for black voices?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

Well, one of the, I think dirty little secret, it's not black owned, but it is black run. Just about 90 some percent of the people who run BET look like us. They come from our communities. They've done extremely well. One of the things that I want to do, and I said this sort of the first week on the job is really highlight the people who run bet. We have some very strong, intelligent people who run bet. And you usually only know that one face or two faces that are at the company. There's a team of leadership there that I think really our community needs to know and our community needs to engage with.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Hey, with the new shows and stuff, when they come out, can you make sure everybody hairline ain't super crispy on the show?

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

I thought that's what people want.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

It don't look real. You've been caged. You've been caged for three weeks. A beard with crispy hairline. Make sure the hairlines are normal.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I want to give you the opportunity to teach too, Derek, because people like to say the NAACP was started by white folks.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

So in 1909, people who we think are who we see as white today, they were not considered white in 1909. Jewish people were not considered white in 1909, nor was Italian Catholics. The NACP was created by a set of individuals who were othered. They were not a part of the mainstream. It wasn't until the late 20s, 30s, and then after World War II that people we see now as white are considered white. And so this concept, NACP will start about white folks. No, we were started by a group of people who were other. Now be very clear. Black folks created NACP with the Niagara Movement, with W.E.B. du Bois, Ida B. Wells, William Oro Trotter. They came to a meeting that next year as a result of a racial incident that happened in Springfield, Illinois. And they agreed collectively to start an organization that was national scope that represent colored people across the spectrum, whether you was Irish, Catholic or Jewish or black, whatever. Because democracy was not being applied to all of those communities. And so this fallacy that it was started by white people in 1909, those folks weren't considered white. They only became white when it was politically expedient. If you was Italian, you was not considered white. When LaGuardia got elected in this city, he was not considered white. And as a result, over time, the Italian community became a part of the social construct of whiteness. We never will because this ain't going nowhere. So we have to be black to the bone and be clear and proud about it through and through. But no one did us a favor in creating an organization. They was creating an organization to advocate for their own security as well.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Let's look at some of these nominees. Lauren, pull them up. I know we all over the place in this interview.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

Outstanding motion picture Highest to lowest one of them days. Sarah's oil sinners Wicked. Outstanding documentary. Being Eddie on Netflix.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What are the categories?

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

Oh, outstanding podcast, News and information. Outstanding podcast. Life in self help, Lifestyle, self help. Outstanding podcast. Society and culture. I think I was supposed to be in that one. Outstanding podcast Arts, sports and entertainment. Outstanding podcast Scripted limited series, short form. You have the outstanding gospel, Christian album. Outstanding album. Outstanding song, Solar, R B, hip hop and rap song. Outstanding variety series or special outstanding children's program. Outstanding new artists. Outstanding male artists, female artists, entertainer of the year. Tiana Taylor is also in that category too with Cynthia Erivo and Dolce, Kendrick Lamar, Michael B. Jordan. Outstanding comedy series, outstanding drama series, Outstanding news information series are special Outstanding talk series. Outstanding reality program, reality competition series services and game shows.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So Dion, you didn't demand that the funny knowing you podcast get nominated. Listen.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Podcast is blowing up, man. Why they know y' all thing, man. Next year. Next year is gonna be on there, man.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

I do love your podcast.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Thank you. I just watched you sit down with Bill Burr.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

That's also one of my favorite one.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Coming out this Wednesday. We got Brian Austin Green from 920.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

Yeah.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Wow. He's gonna be talking about what Tashina was saying about.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Go ahead.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

What the hell we know about.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

So get the.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

So Wednesday was while they was on Martin and she said that she had let him go because she didn't want because he was sleeping with so many black women.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

He, he.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

She didn't want to keep sleeping with him. And then he go be with a white girl and. And share his riches with a white girl. So she let him go. He was like, no, she's. A little bit. A little bit.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

It went around.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

But no, she. Oh wow.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

She said that. She was like, nah, I let him go. And he was like, no, no, this is what happened. And he hit me up and he came through.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

Did he post a video to his TikTok? Did he post a video somewhere on social or.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

No, I don't know if he posted.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

It, but no, that might have been a fake one I saw because I thought I saw like a response somewhere from him.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Oh yeah, I think he said something like, okay, or I love you, girl. But. But he, but he, but he still. He still love her.

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

Okay, getting into the tea.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

But yeah, Envy.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

Go ahead.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

That was a good question. You asked what you're saying.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

I was asking how would a winners pick.

[DJ Envy]

So how do. How do people decide who's winning these categories?

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

So there is a. First of all, you have to submit your content. There is a committee, people in the industry and lay persons, over 300 plus people to nominate. And then once you are nominated, you're voted on. Depending on the category, it could be a committee that votes on you of experts or the literary committee. You have individuals who read a lot of books. Right. Some of the categories is anyone can vote the mask vote. In other categories there is another voting committee and so it's broken up. So no one has their thumb on the scale for any particular product. You know, executive produced a daytime soap called beyond the Gates. I couldn't have my thumb on the scale. But they got nominated and I'm glad it is nominated. It is an opportunity for us to really appreciate our content and then vote on what we think is best represent our image and who we are as a people.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Let me tell you what we need. We need Uncommon Favor by Don Staley to win outstanding literary work. That's Black Privilege Publishing.

[Sponsor Announcer]

We need.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Win outstanding podcast. That's iheartmedia Reason Choice. We need money and wealth for John O'. Brien. That's Black Effect. Iheart podcast. Oh, just here with Dr. J. That's Black Effect. We need that to win as well. What else we need to win? Oh, and we need Kingsland to win an outstanding podcast scripted limited series. That's SBH Productions and Audible.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Anything else, sir?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

No, that's we. That's covered.

[DJ Envy]

So the show is February 28th on BET. Make sure you go out and watch it. We appreciate you brothers for joining us.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

This morning and on cbs.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Y' all sure about that? CBS had some changes.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

And in fact, why don't the Breakfast Club come out and air from there? We start, we kick off on Tuesday with a golf tournament. We're doing something every day. Come out and air.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Why not? What day? What day is it?

[Host/Podcast Advertiser]

February.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

February 28th. That's Saturday. But we're doing something from Tuesday through Saturday.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Okay.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Okay.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

You know what? I do have one last question. When you talk about cbs, a lot of black people are politically exhausted. And you heard Deion say about how, you know, his. His comedy shows are an escape. Like, how does the NAACP re. Energize people who feel like, you know, their vote, protesting, donating, like, they feel like, ugh, again?

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Yeah. It's like, you know, I'm exhausted from eating, therefore I'm not gonna eat anymore and I'm gonna die because I don't eat. Dion is a good example. I said it early. Joy and laughter is a part of advocacy, and we recognize that so many of our people are consuming information from sports and comedy. So we're trying to get more into that space so you can be entertained, but also be informed. We cannot promote this concept that we're exhausted. We have to just drive in the notion that if we don't participate, you think things are bad. Now it's only going to get worse. A year ago, we didn't think it was going to be this bad. And as a result of some of us not participating, it was more people not voting that voted. In our community. Therefore, we have to drive the notion that voting is like breathing and eating. You must do it regardless of your fatigue, because if you don't, you won't be able to breathe or eat. So.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

So you have moments like, I think last year y' all had Vice president Kamala Harris. You know, she won an award and she gave her speech. Are you gonna have moments like that this year?

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

We're more than likely. I mean, we're the nacp. Absolutely. In between, Deon tell us some great.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

Jokes, but I think charlamagne to that point of exhaustion. I think it's on all of us to make sure that our community doesn't get exhausted. I mean, because people are going to get tired of different moments of time depending on what happens in the community. So I think it's important, especially those of us in the media, that we continue to push and motivate and inspire people.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

And we just launched NAACP is a platform for podcasts, short form media. For that very reason, we just launched a venture capital fund so we can reinvest in our communities. A $200 million raise. We're the organization that. We realize that the sum total of black, of the black experience goes beyond entertainment, goes beyond what goes on in D.C. is everything that we do. We're trying to be in all of those spaces.

[DJ Envy]

All right, so the 57th NAACP Image Awards goes down on BET and CBS February 28th. Dion Cole, Derry Johnson, Lewis Carr. Thank you guys for joining us.

[Dion Cole (Comedian, NAACP Awards Host)]

Thank you. And they can vote online for these.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

Some of the categories. You can vote online. That's correct.

[Lewis Carr (BET President)]

All right.

[Derrick Johnson (NAACP President)]

That's right.

[DJ Envy]

It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Every day I wake up.

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