Darnella Fraizer’s decision to stand up against injustice and record the harrowing final minutes of George Floyd’s life is being regarded as one of the most essential components of former police officer Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction.
On Tuesday, the jury in Chauvin’s trial reached a verdict and found him guilty of third-degree murder, second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter, as Blavity previously reported.
Later, the teenager posted on Facebook that she was so relieved with the outcome of the verdict that she wept.
"I just cried so hard,” she wrote. "I was so anxious, anxiety bussing through the roof. But to know GUILTY ON ALL 3 CHARGES !!! THANK YOU GOD THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.”
I just cried so hard????This last hour my heart was beating so fast, I was so anxious, anxiety bussing through the roof….
Posted by Darnella Frazier on Tuesday, April 20, 2021
In court, the then-17-year-old high school student recalled the events of May 25, 2020, where she captured the Black father writhing in pain, calling for his mother.
"I heard George Floyd saying, 'I can't breathe, please, get off of me' … and crying for his mom," Frazier testified, CNN reports. "He was in pain. It seemed like he knew it was over for him."
Angela Harrellson, Floyd's aunt, praised Frazier for her quick thinking and courageous act.
"The sad thing is if it hadn't been for that 17-year-old girl Darnella, it would have been another black man that was killed by the police … and they would have said, 'Oh, it was drugs, oh it was this,'" Harrellson said. "And we would never have had the story we would have. And wouldn't be here today talking."
The impact of Chauvin’s trial could have even greater implications on the law enforcement community at large.
The North Carolina chapter of NAACP wrote a statement saying that Frazier’s video "will go down in history.”
"Like the Abraham Zapruder film of the Assassination of President John Kennedy, the traditional police coverup was impossible," the statement read. "No one, not even many of Chauvin's police colleagues, could argue against Ms. Frazier's film."
Media mogul Oprah Winfrey joined the countless Americans who expressed their gratitude for Frazier and the jury.
#GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/HKeNlthckW
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) April 20, 2021
"I cried tears of joy when the verdict was read," Winfrey tweeted. "I'm grateful to the witnesses and their testimonies. Grateful to Darnella Frazier. Grateful to every Juror for seeing and acknowledging what the world saw on that tape. Thank you God for real!"
Darnella Frazier bravely filmed an atrocity and set off a chain of events that will go down in history. W/out her there wouldn’t have been charges. There would not have been Justice for George Floyd and his family. Salute this Queen. #RaiseAFist
#DemVoice1
#FreshEmpowersWomen
pic.twitter.com/RWHCW9I6mw— RosaSparks (@LqLana) April 21, 2021
Last fall, the 18-year-old was awarded the 2020 PEN/Benenson Courage Award by human rights advocacy organization Pen America, as Blavity previously reported.
Pen America CEO Suzanne Nossel said the young woman helped create a wave of anti-racism protests that have resonated throughout the globe by way of “nothing more than a cell phone” and courage.
“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 well-being, we may never have known the truth about George Floyd’s murder. We are proud to recognize her exceptional courage with this award,” Nossel said.