LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Denzel Washington Saturday won the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Award for best actor for the fifth time in the last seven years.
Washington won for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of a corrupt cop in Training Day.
He faced tough competition this year from Will Smith's performance in the title role of Ali, and the two will face off again at the Academy Awards on March 24.
Both have been nominated for Oscars in the best actor category, the first time two African Americans have been in the running for that award.
Washington will be hoping to win the best actor Oscar for the first time on his third nomination. He has, however, dominated the category at the NAACP awards, with this year's triumph his third in a row.
Last year he won for his portrayal of a pioneering black football coach in Remember the Titans and in 2000 he secured the award for his role as a boxer in Hurricane.
Actress Halle Berry, who has been nominated for the best actress Oscar this year for the racially charged Monster's Ball won the NAACP's best actress award but for a different movie, the spy thriller Swordfish.
NAACP's best movie award went to Ali, a movie about legendary boxer Muhammad Ali which received mixed reviews and a relatively low box office.
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was presented with this year's "President's Award", an honor which last year when to former President Clinton.
The show was hosted by comedian Chris Tucker.
© 2002 Reuters