His video went around the world and laid the groundwork for a transformation of the face of the United States.
Darnella Frazier, the 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.
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 didn't know this man (…), but I knew his life mattered,” Darnella Frazier wrote on her Facebook page on the occasion of the first anniversary of George Floyd's death 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.
"
The regret of "not having saved his life"
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.
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 thirty years in prison against Derek Chauvin, who will face his sentence on June 25.
The death of George Floyd in the heart of the Pulitzer this year
Beyond this special award, 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 abuse. law enforcement, particularly against African Americans.
In the "current affairs" 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, reference and nuanced" coverage.
Reuters was co-crowned in the explanatory journalism category for a multimedia project dubbed "Shielded," which shows how 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.
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