The murder of George Floyd reverberated around the world, inspiring a modern-day civil rights movement and a host of creative projects paying homage to the slain father of one.
One such artistic endeavor is now the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for the best general nonfiction book. His Name Is George Floyd, was co-authored by Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa. The book chronicles the history of systemic racism that affected every aspect of Floyd’s life—from his family’s roots in North Carolina to the endless fight for equality in housing, education, healthcare, criminal justice and policing—leading up to his untimely and tragic death.
Samuels broke the news of the momentous occasion via Twitter, saying, “I hope this Pulitzer recognition helps to extend and vivify this necessary conversation we need to have in this country about the roots of our problems. And to remind people that George Floyd’s life mattered—truly mattered—[to] the many who loved him.”
I hope this Pulitzer recognition helps to extend and vivify this necessary conversation we need to have in this country, about the roots of our problems. And to remind people that George Floyd’s life mattered – truly mattered – the many who loved him: https://t.co/77A4H9uH8a
— Robert Samuels (@newsbysamuels) May 9, 2023
Since Floyd’s murder at the hands of Derek Chauvin, the eyes of the country have seemed to gain more clarity around the root of the injustices that the Black community has faced. This is something Samuels and Olorunnipa make a key in their story about Floyd.
With access to his journals, Samuels says that what they revealed was a man whose life was much more than just the last 8 minutes the world was able to see“There’s this stereotype that a person who looks like George Floyd, with his size and his education level, that probably would not be very introspective. But when those diary entries and letters and text messages were shown, that’s not what we saw. We saw a person who really thought about his position in the world, but also a sense of optimism and persistence about life,” Samuels told MPR News.