Prince Harry, Meghan Markle To Receive Special Award At 2022 NAACP Image Awards

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will be making their first joint public appearance of 2022 this weekend.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will receive the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President's Award during the 53rd annual Image Awards Saturday, Variety reported.

The NAACP announced Thursday that it had selected Prince Harry and Markle who have "heeded the call to social justice" and joined the "struggle for equity" in the U.S. and around the world.

Previous recipients of the President's Award include Muhammad Ali, LeBron James, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Rihanna, Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill and journalist Soledad O’Brien, among others.

"It's a true honor to be recognized by President Derrick Johnson and the NAACP, whose efforts to propel racial justice and civil rights are as vital today as they were nearly 115 years ago," Prince Harry and Markle said in a statement.

The couple's Archewell Foundation has also partnered with the NAACP to create a new annual award, the NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award.

The award will honor individuals who are not only leaders of transformational change in progressing civil and human rights but who also seek advancements in the digital rights space and work to expand equity.

Honorees will receive a $100,000 unrestricted stipend to be used to advance new work, expand leadership and expertise or continue to make an impact in the field.

The first recipient is author and scholar Dr. Safiya Noble, an internet studies scholar and professor of Gender Studies and African American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is also the co-founder and faculty director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2), which works with the Archewell Foundation.

"We're thrilled to present this award to Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who together have heeded the call to social justice and have joined the struggle for equity both in the U.S. and around the world," NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement.

Johnson continued, "Not only do they continue to lead by example, the Duke and Duchess have also decided to inspire the next generation of activists through the NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, ensuring the support and recognition of generations of civil rights leaders to come."

The NAACP has already begun handing out its 53rd annual Image Awards, which are rolling out over six consecutive nights beginning Monday.

The winners in non-televised award categories have been announced on naacpimageawards.net and the NAACP Image Awards YouTube channel every night leading up to the televised ceremony Saturday, Deadline reported.

The NAACP Image Awards ceremony will be hosted by Anthony Anderson. The presenters and performers include Issa Rae, Kerry Washington, LL Cool J, Michael Strahan, Morgan Freeman, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Paula Patton, Questlove, Samuel L. Jackson, Simu Liu, Tiffany Haddish and Zendaya.

The 53rd NAACP Image Awards will broadcast live Saturday at 8 p.m. EST/PT on BET.