1974 •
Alvin Childress (1907–1986) •
Lillian Cumber (1920–2002) •
Ossie Davis (1917–2005) •
Sammy Davis Jr. (1925–1990) •
Katherine Dunham (1909–2006) •
Theresa Harris (1906–1985) •
Eugene Jackson (1916–2001) •
William Marshall (1924–2003) •
Juanita Moore (1914–2014) •
Clarence Muse (1889–1979) •
Gordon Parks Sr. (1912–2006) • Lincoln Theodore Perry (stage name
Stepin Fetchit) (1902–1985) •
Beah Richards (1920–2000) •
Paul Robeson (1898–1976) •
Vincent Tubbs (1915–1989) •
Lorenzo Tucker (1907–1986) •
Leigh Whipper (1876–1975)
1975 •
William D. Alexander (1916–1991) •
Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (1905-1977) •
Ruby Dee (1922–2014) •
Duke Ellington† (1899-1974) •
Joel Fluellen (1907-1990) •
Lorraine Hansberry† (1930-1965) •
Lena Horne (1917-2010) •
Allen Hoskins (1920–1980) •
Rex Ingram† (1895-1969) •
Hall Johnson† (1888–1970) •
Quincy Jones (1933-2024) •
Robert Earl Jones (1910-2006) •
Eartha Kitt (1927-2008) •
Abbey Lincoln (Aminata Moseka) (1930–2010) •
Hattie McDaniel† (1895–1952) •
Butterfly McQueen (1911–1995) •
Frederick O'Neal (1905-1992) •
Louis S. Peterson (1922–1998) •
Sidney Poitier (1927-2022) •
Fredi Washington (1903–1994) • Joseph M. Wilcots
1976 •
Josephine Baker† (1906-1975) •
Louise Beavers† (1902–1962) •
Harry Belafonte (1927-2023) •
Eubie Blake (1887–1983) •
Diahann Carroll (1935–2019) • Alfred (Slick) Chester •
Bernie Hamilton (1928-2008) •
John O. Killens (1916-1987) •
Canada Lee† (1907-1952) • Lucia Lynn Moses •
Fayard Nicholas (1914-2006) and
Harold Nicholas (1921-2000) (
Nicholas Brothers) •
Brock Peters (1927–2005) •
Melvin Van Peebles (1932–2021) •
Ethel Waters (1896-1977)
1977 •
Roscoe Lee Browne (1922-2007) •
Dorothy Dandridge† (1922-1965) • Bee Freeman • Bernard Johnson •
James Earl Jones (1931-2024) •
Maidie Norman (1912–1998) •
Cicely Tyson (1924–2021)
1978 •
Count Basie (1904-1984) •
Benny Carter (1907–2003) •
Nat King Cole† (1919-1965) •
Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) •
Nina Mae McKinney† (1912–1967) •
Bill "Bojangles" Robinson† (1878-1949) •
Hazel Scott (1920-1981)
1979 •
Lonne Elder III (1927–1996) •
Earl "Fatha" Hines (1903–1983) •
Herb Jeffries (1913–2014) •
Etta Moten Barnett (1901–2004) •
Floyd Norman (born 1935) and *
Leo D. Sullivan (1940–2023) •
Diana Sands† (1934–1973) •
Paul Winfield (1939–2004)
1980 •
Vinnette Carroll (1922–2002) •
Ivan Dixon (1931–2008) •
James Edwards† (1918–1970) •
William Greaves (1926–2014) •
Lillian Randolph (1898–1980) •
Frank Silvera† (1914–1970) •
Woody Strode (1914–1994)
1981 •
Maya Angelou (1928-2014) •
Louis Gossett Jr. (1936-2024) •
Geoffrey Holder (1930-2014) •
Phil Moore (1918-1987) •
Raymond St. Jacques (1930-1990)
1982 •
Cab Calloway (1907–1994) •
Jester Hairston (1901-2000) •
Yaphet Kotto (1939-2021) •
Hugh Robertson (1932-1988)
1984 •
Carmen de Lavallade (born 1931) •
Mantan Moreland† (1902-1973) •
Richard Pryor (1940-2005) •
Billy Dee Williams (born 1937)
1985 •
Jim Brown (1936-2023) •
Gloria Foster (1933-2001) •
Robert Hooks (born 1937)
1986 •
Moses Gunn (1929-1993) •
Madame Sul-Te-Wan† (1873–1959)
1987 •
Scatman Crothers† (1910–1986) •
Jeni Le Gon (1916–2012) •
Ernie Morrison (Sunshine Sammy) (1912–1989)
1988 •
Louis Armstrong† (1901-1971) •
Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993)
1989 •
Lola Falana (born 1942) •
Elisabeth Welch (1904-2003)
1990 •
Suzanne de Passe (born 1948) •
Danny Glover (born 1946)
1991 •
Esther Rolle (1920-1998) •
Michael Schultz (born 1938)
1992 •
Madeline Anderson (born 1923/4) •
Rosalind Cash (1938–1995) •
Helen Martin (1909-2000) •
Denise Nicholas (born 1944) •
Madge Sinclair (1938-1995)
1993 •
John Singleton (1968-2019) •
Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) •
Clarence Muse † (1889-1979) •
Gordon Parks (1912-2006) † Awarded posthumously ==See also==