Teen Awarded Pulitzer Citation for Filming George Floyd’s Murder
“The video record she made is one of the most important civil rights documents in a generation.”
Darnella Frazier was 17 years old when she recorded George Floyd‘s murder in Minneapolis last year. Frazier’s footage played a significant role in sparking global protests against police brutality and was used as evidence in the trial of Floyd’s killer. Her video showed former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck. Chauvin held his knee there for nine minutes and 29 seconds. Frazier was awarded a special citation by the Pulitzer Board this past Friday — a prestigious prize in journalism.
Committee officials from the Pulitzer Board expressed that Frazier’s filming spotlighted “the crucial role of citizens in journalists’ quests for truth and justice,” as per The Washington Post. Melvin Carter, the mayor of St. Paul, Minneapolis, had suggested Frazier should win the Pulitzer Prize for taping the arrest that would make headlines across media outlets and go viral on social media.
Frazier said she was proud of herself for documenting Floyd’s murder even though it became a “traumatic life-changing experience” for her in the aftermath. She even received widespread acclaim for her actions including President Biden, film director Spike Lee and Anita Hill. “As the prosecutors congratulate each other, thinking of young Darnella Frazier. There is no case without her,” journalist Ann Marie Lipinski tweeted during Chauvin’s trial. “The video record she made is one of the most important civil rights documents in a generation.”
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