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Teenager Who Recorded George Floyd’s Fatal Arrest Honoured With Award For Courage

Teenager Who Recorded George Floyd’s Fatal Arrest Honoured With Award For Courage

Darnella Frazier was praised for her 'guts' to film the confronting situation, which 'changed the course of history in this country'.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

The teenager who filmed George Floyd being arrested has been honoured with an award for courage.

Darnella Frazier whipped out her phone when she noticed Floyd was being taken into custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

The video captured the harrowing final moments of Floyd's life where he begged officer Derek Chauvin to stop pressing his knee on his neck because he couldn't breathe.

Floyd eventually lost consciousness during the eight-minute arrest and later died as a result.

PA

It can be a confronting situation for anyone who had to watch those events play out, however 17-year-old Darnella has been praised for continuing to film the arrest and upload it onto social media.

The video quickly went viral and it saw a massive resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in America and other countries around the world.

It helped spark a national discussion on how people of colour were treated and what needs to happen to fix the systemic issues that have persisted for decades.

Literary and free expression organisation PEN America honoured the teenager with the PEN/Benenson Courage Award.

PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement: "With nothing more than a cell phone and sheer guts, Darnella changed the course of history in this country, sparking a bold movement demanding an end to systemic anti-Black racism and violence at the hands of police.

PA

"With remarkable steadiness, Darnella carried out the expressive act of bearing witness, and allowing hundreds of millions around the world to see what she saw. Without Darnella's presence of mind and readiness to risk her own safety and wellbeing, we may never have known the truth about George Floyd's murder.

"We are proud to recognise her exceptional courage with this award."

Frazier was one of many people recognised for their efforts at the awards show this year, with honours also going to President Barack Obama, Executive Vice Chairman of Hearst Frank A. Bennack Jr., writer and performer Patti Smith, Chinese organizer and dissident Xu Zhiyong, and Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who was a key witness during the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

The teenager said she was shocked to be honoured with the incredible award.

"I never would've imagined out of my whole 17 years of living that this'll be me," she said after accepting the honour. "It's just a lot to take in, but I couldn't say thank you enough for everything that's been coming towards me."

Featured Image Credit: Pen.org

Topics: News, George Floyd