The Duke of Sussex acted on behalf of Archewell, the organization he runs with his wife, Meghan Markle, as he presented a special award at the NAACP ceremony at the weekend.
The Markup CEO Nabiha Syed received the NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, which was presented via Zoom by Prince Harry and NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson.
“I was beyond surprised and honored to receive this award – especially because I consider the inaugural recipient, Dr. Safiya Noble, a hero of mine!” Nabiha said. “Being recognized by NAACP and Archewell is quite humbling, given both institutions’ commitment to equality and justice.
“Especially after the pandemic, we cannot deny that technology is the architecture of our reality – that architecture connects and informs us, but can also exacerbate longstanding inequality and spread misinformation.
“Our job now is to challenge technology to serve us all, not only those who hold power and privilege. It’s humbling to stand alongside many passionate digital rights advocates fighting for a more equitable world.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: “When we founded this award with the NAACP, we wanted to highlight and uplift people across the country who are transforming the digital world for the better. Nabiha Syed is doing just that, harnessing her own expertise to push for safer, more inclusive online communities.”
They continued: “Nabiha and her team are shedding light on some of the most critical issues of our time and in doing so, empowering all of us to reclaim some of our most basic freedoms: truth, safety, and choice. She’s an inspiration to us and so many others, and we’re proud to support her incredibly important work.”
The award is designed to recognize young leaders who are working to advance social justice causes. Nabiha Syed was previously Vice President and Associate General Counsel at BuzzFeed, and her new enterprise is a non-profit journalism start-up investigating how large companies use technology.
The award shows took place on Saturday evenings in Los Angeles. Other winners included filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood, who won for directing The Woman King.
Angela Bassett picked up an award for her lead role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever while Niecy Nash-Betts won the award for best actress in a TV movie, limited series, or dramatic special for Ryan Murphy’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which was a big hit for Netflix.
Dedicating her award to Glenda Cleveland, the woman she played, the actress said: “She was unseen, that if we had listened if the people who were supposed to listen who were in power hadn’t listened to her, so many lives would have been saved.
“I am so grateful to be honoured by people who look like me. I am so grateful that you didn’t give up on me and that you’re still rooting for me. And that this award is a testament to the fact that my talent has nothing to do with where I lay my head”.
Ryan Coogler also picked up an award for outstanding writing for Wakanda Forever, alongside his co-writer Joe Robert Cole.
