Dear Commons Community,

Darnella Frazier, the teenager whose cellphone video of George Floyd’s killing by police in Minneapolis prompted outrage across the world, was awarded an honorary Pulitzer Prize yesterday for “courageously recording” the murder.

The Pulitzer Prize board announced (see video below) it was awarding Frazier a special citation for the video she shot on May 25, 2020, which showed four now-former Minneapolis police officers restrain Floyd outside the Cup Foods convenience store. One of the officers, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder charges in April for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes despite Floyd’s protests that he couldn’t breathe.

The other three officers involved — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao — face charges of aiding and abetting a murder and are expected to stand trial next year. All four also face federal civil rights charges.

Frazier, who was a teenager at the time of the incident, testified during Chauvin’s trial, telling the court that she was haunted by the scene after Floyd’s death.

“It’s been nights I stayed up apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life,” she said. “But it’s like, it’s not what I should have done, it’s what [Chauvin] should have done.”

The Pulitzer board said Frazier’s video “spurred protests against police brutality around the world, highlighting the crucial role of citizens in journalists’ quest for truth and justice.”

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune also won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the aftermath of Floyd’s death.

Ms. Frazier is most deserving of this honor!

Tony

The citation announcement  for Darnella Frazier starts at the 18:20 mark.

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