Teen who recorded video of George Floyd's death recognized by Pulitzer board

The Star Tribune and The Associated Press also were honored for Floyd coverage.

June 11, 2021, 6:24 PM

• 5 min read

Darnella Frazier, the teen who recorded a comprehensive video of the killing of George Floyd last May, was recognized on Friday by The Pulitzer Prize board.

Frazier, who was 17 at the time of the incident, was awarded a special citation 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," the organization said.

Police body camera image shows bystanders including Alyssa Funari, left filming, Charles McMillan, center left in light colored shorts, Christopher Martin center in gray, Donald Williams, center in black, Genevieve Hansen, fourth from right filming, Darnella Frazier, third from right filming, as former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was recorded pressing his knee on George Floyd's neck for several minutes in Minneapolis, May 25, 2020. Frazier, a high school student, is standing next to her 9-year-old cousin in a T-shirt emblazoned with the word "Love."

Frazier also testified during the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty in April of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd.

"He was in pain," Frazier said of Floyd during her testimony. "It seemed like, he knew ... he knew it was over for him. He was terrified. He was suffering. This was a cry for help."

The teen made a now-famous 10-minute cellphone video capturing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck as he was in police custody on May 25, 2020. A Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted on June 14, 2020, found that 79% of Americans said they had seen the video.

On the one-year anniversary of Floyd's death, Frazier released a statement about what she witnessed and how it changed her.

"I am 18 now and I still hold the weight and trauma of what I witnessed a year ago," she said. "It's a little easier now, but I'm not who I used to be. A part of my childhood was taken from me."

Frazier also was honored last year by PEN America, the literary and human rights organization, with the PEN/Benenson Courage Award for actions.

Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in an image from the video during arrest of George Floyd, May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis.

In addition to Frazier, the Pulitzer Prize board this year recognized other work covering the killing of Floyd.

The staff of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting "for its urgent, authoritative and nuanced coverage of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis and of the reverberations that followed," the board said. The photography staff of The Associated Press also was honored for Breaking News Photography "for a collection of photographs from multiple U.S. cities that cohesively captures the country's response to the death of George Floyd."

Here's the full list of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize winners in journalism:

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