Darnella Frazier, teen who filmed George Floyd's murder, wins special Pulitzer award
Darnella Frazier, the teenager who filmed the killing of George Floyd with her cellphone, won a special award this year from the Pulitzer Prize Board, the committee announced on Friday.
The Board, which annually recognizes important journalism work throughout the country, awarded the prestigious citation to Frazier for "courageously recording the murder of George Floyd, a video that spurred protests against police brutality around the world, highlighting the crucial role of citizens in journalists' quest for truth and justice."
Frazier was 17 when she recorded Floyd's fatal arrest last May by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. She had been walking with her 9-year-old cousin near Cup Foods at the time of his arrest, and recorded Chauvin as he kneeled on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes. Her evidence at the scene went viral and sparked widespread protests around the world.
"Everyone talks about the girl who recorded George Floyd's death, but to actually be her is a different story," Frazier said in a Facebook post a year after Floyd's death. "...It's a little easier now, but I'm not who I used to be. A part of my childhood was taken from me."
Although celebrities and politicians have celebrated her as a "hero," the teenager said that she doesn't consider herself as such, but rather a girl who "was just in the right place at the right time."
"Behind this smile, behind these awards, behind the publicity, I'm a girl trying to heal from something I am reminded of every day," Frazier wrote. She said it has been a "traumatic life-changing experience" that still affects her and her family.
Frazier testified at Chauvin's trial in March, and her video was shown to the jury as a key piece of evidence. In her testimony, she became emotional as she recalled Floyd "suffering" and begging for his life.
The jury found Chauvin guilty on charges of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
"Justice has been served," Frazier wrote on Facebook shortly after the verdict was announced.
