Darnella Frazier was one of the bystanders who recorded then-police officer Derek Chauvin pinning George Floyd to the ground with a knee on his neck. | Minneapolis Police Department via AP, File
New York: Darnella Frazier, the teenager who recorded the killing of George Floyd, received a special citation in the Pulitzer Prizes this year. The Pulitzer Prizes Board congratulated Darnella in a tweet on Friday.
For breaking the Floyd story, The Star Tribune of Minneapolis won a Pulitzer Prize. The killing of a Black man, George Floyd, by police brute, which happened on May 25th 2020, had resulted in civil unrest in the city of Minneapolis. Floyd was pinned to the ground by police officer Derek Chauvin, and he died of suffocation.
The announcement of the prizes was originally scheduled for April 19th, but the Pulitzer prize Board postponed it until June. The board gave its 18 members a chance to debate the entries. This is the second time the ceremony is pushed back. Last year also, the announcement was pushed back for two weeks because of the pandemic to give members more time to evaluate finalists. The traditional award luncheon usually held at Columbia University in May is also postponed.
The Pulitzer Prizes for journalism was started in 1917. It is considered a prestigious honour in the United States.