On the same night Michelle Obama and Kendrick Lamar were celebrated at the 2026 NAACP Image Awards, a reporter for Word In Black quietly made history of her own.
Anissa Durham won the inaugural Outstanding Literary Work – Journalism award for “On Borrowed Time,” her nine-part investigation into the organ donation and transplantation crisis facing Black Americans. Published in Word In Black last fall, the series beat out nominees from CNN and The New York Times — making Durham the first journalist the NAACP has ever recognized with this honor.
“It’s an incredible honor and an immense privilege to win this award,” Durham says. “As the first journalist to win in this new category, it truly speaks to the depth of my reporting.”
Now in their 57th year, the Image Awards have long recognized excellence in film, television, music, and literature. The decision to add journalism in 2026 — and Word In Black’s win on the first night of awards — signals that storytelling rooted in Black communities, reported with excellence and intimacy, belongs in the same conversation as the nation’s most powerful media institutions.
This series wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the dozens of Black men and women who shared their stories with me.
Anissa Durham
“On Borrowed Time” examines why Black Americans account for a disproportionate share of patients on transplant waiting lists yet receive organs at far lower rates than white patients. Unpacking decades of medical racism, algorithmic bias, and deep institutional mistrust, Durham told the stories of people living the disparity: Black patients waiting by the phone for calls that don’t come, families making impossible decisions, a legendary, 88-year-old surgeon still fighting for equity.
“This series wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the dozens of Black men and women who shared their stories with me,” Durham says. “Their vulnerability, tears, and honesty are at the heart of ‘On Borrowed Time.'”
For Word In Black — a news website operating within a collaborative network of legacy Black-owned newsrooms — the win carries weight beyond a single award. Competing against The Times and CNN, and winning, challenges assumptions about where important journalism comes from and who gets to make it.
“This matters to WIB and the Black press because it’s a testament to the power of our reporting,” Durham says. “Our stories are written by us and for us. This recognition by the NAACP highlights why Black writers, journalists, and storytellers matter.”
Series Overview:
The Cruelest Kind of Heartbreak: An intimate look at Black patients facing loss, insurance barriers, and impossible waits while hoping for a life-saving heart transplant.
The Call That Saves a Life: Black transplant recipients recount the moment they received the call that changed — and saved — their lives.
Need an Organ Transplant? These 7 Resources Can Help: A practical guide to financial, legal, and emotional resources for Black patients navigating the transplant system.
Is the Patient Black? Check This Box for Yes: An investigation into race-based medical calculations that have historically delayed kidney transplants for Black patients.
He’s a Legendary Transplant Surgeon. At 88, His Work Isn’t Done: A profile of Dr. Clive O. Callender, whose decades-long fight for transplant equity has saved countless Black lives.
Why Do We Believe Organ Donation Conspiracies? Explores how misinformation and historical trauma fuel fear and conspiracy beliefs about organ donation in Black communities.
Organ Donation 101: Here’s What to Know: A clear, accessible explainer breaking down how organ donation and transplantation actually work.
Why Black Folks Say ‘No’ to Organ Donation: Examines how medical racism and generational mistrust shape decisions around organ donation.
What Reporting on Organ Transplants Taught Me: Anissa Durham’s reflection on the human cost of inequity and what a year of reporting revealed about survival, trust, and care.
Please join us in congratulating Anissa Durham on this well-deserved honor and celebrating the collective effort of Word In Black journalists, editors, and partners who helped bring “On Borrowed Time” to life.