After Derek Chauvin’s Conviction, Gratitude for Darnella Frazier


BY MICHELLE RUIZ22 APRIL 2021
BRITISH VOGUE


PHOTO CREDIT: DARNELLA FRAZIER/INSTAGRAM

Tuesday’s verdict made official in the eyes of law what people saw last May: Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is guilty of killing George Floyd. It was a rare conviction in the death of a Black man at the hands of a police officer, and one that may have never happened if not for Darnella Frazier, the then 17-year-old girl who filmed the homicide on her phone and gave a powerful testimony in the case against Chauvin.

After the jury’s decision and the complex mix of emotions it brought, thoughts quickly turned to Frazier, a child who witnessed Floyd’s death firsthand. Valerie Jarrett, a former senior adviser to President Obama, tweeted that Frazier played an essential role in the historic verdict, praising her “strength and composure” in capturing the murder of Floyd on camera. That a Black teen knew to take out her phone and begin filming – because she may need evidence later – is an indictment on the state of our justice system itself. “Remember: none of Chauvin’s colleagues turned him in. He murdered a man in broad daylight and we are here today because a brave Black girl named Darnella Frazier kept taping despite threats from the cops on the scene,” author Mikel Jollett tweeted.

Frazier, now 18, was on a walk to Cup Foods convenience store to get snacks with her nine-year-old cousin when she saw the arrest outside. She was among the bystanders shouting at Chauvin to stop, telling him that Floyd couldn’t breathe, when Chauvin reached for a can of mace: “I felt in danger when he did that,” Frazier testified. But she continued filming an atrocity that would go on to spark protests around the world. “I see a man on the ground, and I see a cop kneeling down on him,” she told the jury, describing Floyd as “terrified, scared, begging for his life”. Not only was her video indispensable, but Frazier’s testimony “shaped the trial”, according to The New York Times. The Washington Post went on to hail her a hero, praising Frazier’s “presence of mind” while also grieving that “the intrepid Minneapolis teenager must live with a ghastly memory that will float alongside her for the rest of her life”.

Frazier has spoken about the devastating impact of Floyd’s death, testifying that she has suffered from anxiety. “It’s been nights I stayed up apologising and apologising to George Floyd for not doing more and not physically interacting and not saving his life,” she said. "But it’s like, it’s not what I should have done, it’s what [Chauvin] should have done.” A GoFundMe organised for Frazier has raised more than $639,000 toward her “peace and healing”. The fundraiser aims to help her cope with what she’s experienced: “In addition to the trauma of watching a Black man be murdered by police, she has had to deal with trolls, bullies, and ignorant people harassing her online... we cannot let this young Black woman become a casualty.”

Frazier reacted to Tuesday’s triple-guilty verdict on Facebook and Instagram. “I just cried so hard,” she said. “Thank you God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” Meanwhile, many people expressed their thanks to Frazier. As New York Times editor Jazmine Hughes put it: “We got here because of Darnella Frazier... I am forever grateful to her.”