Darnella Frazier was only seventeen years old when she filmed a video of Derek Chauvin fatally kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes. Had she not taken out her cell phone and started the video, there is a chance that Floyd’s murderer could still be walking the street as a police officer.
Her video was used as a major piece of evidence against Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty of murder last month. On Tuesday, the world remembered George Floyd one year after he was killed in Minnesota. She reflected on the last year with a post on social media.
“Even though this was a traumatic life-changing experience for me, I’m proud of myself. If it weren’t for my video, the world wouldn’t have known the truth. I own that. My video didn’t save George Floyd, but it put his murderer away and off the streets,” said Frazier in her letter.
She explained that her life has changed dramatically in the last year, relocating out of fear that her home was no longer safe and watching over her shoulder at all times. She says that her nine-year-old cousin, who was also a witness to the crime, lost a part of her childhood.
“It made me realize how dangerous it is to be Black in America,” she wrote. “We shouldn’t have to walk on eggshells around police officers, the same people that are supposed to protect and serve. We are looked at as thugs, animals, and criminals, all because of the color of our skin.”
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