Background Circle Background Circle
Darnella Frazier Awarded Honorary Pulitzer Prize For ‘Courageously’ Filming Killing Of George Floyd

Darnella Frazier Awarded Honorary Pulitzer Prize For ‘Courageously’ Filming Killing Of George Floyd

Darnella Frazier, the teenager who recorded the harrowing last minutes of George Floyd’s life, was awarded an honorary Pulitzer Prize on Friday.

Frazier, who was 17 years old when she filmed former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin fatally kneeling on Floyd’s neck, was honored with a “special citation” by the Pulitzer Prize committee for “courageously” documenting the tragic incident, according to The Daily Beast.

The teen’s video has since sparked racial justice protests around the world and brought awareness to the “crucial role of citizens in journalists’ quests for truth and justice,” the Pulitzer Prize committee expressed.

Ahead of the Pulitzer committee’s announcement this week, former four-time Pulitzer juror Roy Peter Clark joined a community of media pundits who called for the committee to award the teen. He acknowledged that “the material and the creator fall outside the traditional boundaries” of the prizes but the impact of her video has “social and ethical purpose, one that aligns with journalistic values,” according to The Washington Post.

  As Blavity previously reported, Frazier testified at Chauvin’s trial, where her recording would be regarded as a critical piece of evidence that contradicted the police’s original account and assisted in the former officer being convicted of three criminal charges.

The North Carolina chapter of NAACP issued a statement proclaiming that Frazier’s video “will go down in history.”

“Like the Abraham Zapruder film of the Assassination of President John Kennedy, the traditional police coverup was impossible,” the organization’s statement read. “No one, not even many of Chauvin’s police colleagues, could argue against Ms. Frazier’s film.”

However, the teenager doesn’t quite view herself as a hero. Despite the notoriety the recording has brought her, Frazier said she is still recovering mentally from the traumatic event.

“A lot of people call me a hero even though I don’t see myself as one. I was just in the right place at the right time,” she wrote. “Behind this smile, behind these awards, behind the publicity, I’m a girl trying to heal from something I am reminded of every day. Everyone talks about the girl who recorded George Floyd‘s death, but to actually be her is a different story.”

Following the trial, the teen posted on social media that she wept after learning of the outcome of the verdict.

“I just cried so hard,” she wrote. “I was so anxious, anxiety bussing through the roof. But to know GUILTY ON ALL 3 CHARGES !!! THANK YOU GOD THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.”

For the anniversary of Floyd’s death last month, Frazier took to Facebook to reflect on the event she said has changed her life forever.

“It changed me. It changed how I viewed life. It made me realize how dangerous it is to be Black in America,” she wrote. “We shouldn’t have to walk on eggshells around police officers, the same people that are supposed to protect and serve.”

“A lot of people call me a hero even though this was a traumatic life-changing experience for me, I’m proud of myself,” she wrote. “If it weren’t for my video, the world wouldn’t have known the truth. I own that.”

Source link

Related Posts
Woman Who Ran 1980s Cult Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison For Killing At Least 2 Children
Woman Who Ran 1980s Cult Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison For Killing At Least 2 Children

A woman who oversaw a murderous religious cult in Florida in the 1980s was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Read more

Growing tension in Minneapolis as trial looms in Floyd death
Growing tension in Minneapolis as trial looms in Floyd death

But the security going up around the Hennepin County courthouse, City Hall and the jail — all in the heart Read more

Lawmakers Prepare To Vote On Police Reform Bill Named In Honor Of George Floyd
Lawmakers Prepare To Vote On Police Reform Bill Named In Honor Of George Floyd

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 will make its way to the House floor on Wednesday for Read more

House Passes George Floyd Act In Policing Act, But Its Future In Senate Remains Uncertain
House Passes George Floyd Act In Policing Act, But Its Future In Senate Remains Uncertain

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act late on Wednesday with 220 votes. It will Read more

Day Of Global Prayer For Justice For George Floyd To Take Place On The First Day Of Derek Chauvin’s Murder Trial
Day Of Global Prayer For Justice For George Floyd To Take Place On The First Day Of Derek Chauvin’s Murder Trial

Nonprofit George Floyd Global Memorial (GFGM) and local organizers will be gathering on Monday for an interfaith Day of Global Read more

We need to be uncomfortable | Top 5 Black History Movies
We need to be uncomfortable | Top 5 Black History Movies

In this video, I talk about the incident around George Floyd and also share top 5 black history movies of Read more

(BPRW) Court TV’s Coverage Of The Death Of George Floyd Murder Trial Begins | Press releases
(BPRW) Court TV’s Coverage Of The Death Of George Floyd Murder Trial Begins | Press releases

(BPRW) Court TV's Coverage Of The Death Of George Floyd Murder Trial Begins (Black PR Wire) MINNEAPOLIS - Court TV, Read more

Minneapolis To Pay $27 Million To George Floyd’s Family In Historic Settlement
Minneapolis To Pay  Million To George Floyd’s Family In Historic Settlement

The city council of Minneapolis has voted unanimously to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of George Floyd for Read more

Minneapolis will pay George Floyd’s estate $27 million after city council votes to settle lawsuit with family
Minneapolis will pay George Floyd’s estate  million after city council votes to settle lawsuit with family

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The city of Minneapolis on Friday agreed to pay $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit from Read more

EDUCATION ON BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT IN 2020 | How You Can Help From Home
EDUCATION ON BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT IN 2020 | How You Can Help From Home

IS IT OK TO SAY THE N-WORD IN 2020 VID: https://youtu.be/5_51bQiYyKE INFORMATIVE BOOK MENTIONED: https://newjimcrow.com PETITIONS TO SIGN George Floyd Read more

‘ET’ Host Kevin Frazier Blasted For Suggesting There Be A ‘Summit’ Involving Black Folk Educating White Folk Like Sharon Osbourne
‘ET’ Host Kevin Frazier Blasted For Suggesting There Be A ‘Summit’ Involving Black Folk Educating White Folk Like Sharon Osbourne

Entertainment Tonight's Kevin Frazier is in hot water after suggesting Black people hold a race "summit" in order to educate Read more

Pressured By Attorney, Witness In George Floyd Killing Tearfully Defends Yelling At Cop: ‘You Can’t Paint Me Out To Be Angry’
Pressured By Attorney, Witness In George Floyd Killing Tearfully Defends Yelling At Cop: ‘You Can’t Paint Me Out To Be Angry’

Day two of Derek Chauvin's murder trial left those watching awestruck by the testimony of multiple witnesses who were there Read more