Darnella Frazier, an 18-year-old who filmed the arrest and murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the end of May 2020, was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize on Friday, the most prestigious awards for journalism in the United States.
Read the file: Death of George Floyd, demonstrations against police violence, anti-racism ... a look back at a global phenomenon
The Pulitzer jury paid tribute to the one who had gone out that day to race and found herself in front of the scene by chance, for having
"bravely recorded the murder of George Floyd, a video which generated demonstrations against police brutality around the world ”.
This
“underlines the crucial role of citizens in journalists' quest for truth and justice
,
”
the jury continued.
"I did not know this man (...), but I knew that his life counted",
wrote Darnella Frazier on her Facebook page on the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of George Floyd, on May 25.
“It changed me,
” she continued.
“It changed my outlook on life. It made me realize how dangerous it is to be black in America. ” "One day our children may be just children,"
tweeted Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP, the leading organization for racial equality and the promotion of black minority rights in the United States.
"In the meantime, let us reward their courage and their contribution to the manifestation of the truth."
Darnella Frazier had testified, at the end of March, during the trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer since convicted of the murder of George Floyd, who can be seen leaning his knee on the back of the victim, lying on his stomach, for several minutes before that he does not lose consciousness.
The George Floyd case at the center of the rewards
She had explained that for a long time she regretted not having intervened,
“not having saved his life”
, before realizing:
“the question is not what I should have done, but what he (Derek Chauvin ) should have done ”
.
The prosecution has requested 30 years in prison against Derek Chauvin, who will face his sentence on June 25.
Beyond this special prize, the 2021 class, the 105th in Pulitzer Prize history, featured reports and articles devoted to the George Floyd affair itself but also to police brutality and abuses of law enforcement, particularly against African Americans.
In the “breaking news” category, it was the editorial staff of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a local daily in the city where George Floyd was assassinated, which won for its
“urgent, benchmark and nuanced”
coverage
.
Reuters was co-crowned in the explanatory journalism category for a multimedia project dubbed "Shielded" which shows how a half-century-old case law protects American police officers from prosecution or conviction in many blunders.
In local journalism, two Tampa Bay Times reporters were honored for a series of articles on the practices of the Pasco County Sheriff in Florida, who abused his power by harassing people he said could 'break the law. Another major topic of 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has won Pulitzer Prizes for the
New York Times
in the public service category and The Atlantic magazine reporter Ed Young for explanatory journalism. Notably, the presidential campaign, the election, the transition and the events of January 6 are not among the subjects awarded.
