National enterprise reporter
@washingtonpost
. Pulitzer winner. Co-author, “His Name is George Floyd.” National Book Award finalist. Skating fan. Medill alum.
The more I hear about President Trump's covid treatment, the more I think about the late James Brooks, an 80-year-old black man who lived outside Detroit. He left Mississippi for Detroit and built a middle-class life for his family as a company man at Chrysler.
James Brooks who worked all his life to give his family new opportunities. His American dream ended up with him being denied over and over again in the final days. His family had to figure out the right way to mourn, wondering if he was treated justly. That's the story of covid.
As the covid story now coalesces around the president, I think it's important to remember how catastrophic this virus has been for American families. When Freeman-Brooks told me this story in May, there were so many stories like this that we didn't publish it. It was that common.
I won the Pulitzer Prize yesterday! I’m so thrilled and so humbled. I woke up this at 6 am to my proud Jamaican father calling people to tell them about it!
When his daughter, Robin Freeman-Brooks, told me the story, she and her family were still debating which ten people would be able to go to his funeral. "How are we supposed to decide this?" she asked. "Draw straws? Calculate who loved him the most?"
@newsbysamuels
Are you sure you read the whole article? The black students wanted the step competition off campus to regain ownership of it and stop the dilution of its cultural significance. I see the point. Not too controversial, but becoming too non-black.
His blood pressure was alarming, so doctors agreed to give him an X-ray. Only then did the note covid had set into his lungs. The hospital was low on beds, so Freeman had to sleep over night in a wheelchair, then a cot. And finally, a hospital bed, where he died alone.
So they took him to a drive-through test site at a hospital farther away with a better reputation. The outcome wasn't much better. He was denied a covid test 2x because he had no fever (even though he was elderly, lethargic and with chest pain). That's how limited tests were.
When James Freeman got sick this spring, there was so much confusion about what to do. This energetic man felt unusually tired and chest pain. His kids suspected covid, but they did not take him to the nearest hospital b/c it had a bad reputation for treating black patients.
I think we all need to pause and recognize again that Deb Haaland said she was a 35th GENERATION AMERICAN, and reminded us that tribal nations had democracies. Really puts things into context.
#DNC2020
On the subject of racism, I think we are missing that Joe Biden pointed to a sobering and true statistic: One out of every 1,000 black people in this country has died of coronavius. 1 out of every 1000.
I was the only reporter on the planet granted permission to follow George Floyd's girlfriend during the trial of Derek Chauvin. The following story is one about depression, guilt, faith, small miracles and race. Please check it out:
The first time I was called a monkey was in high school in NY. The 2nd time was at college in the Midwest. The third time, a Trump rally in the South. Roseanne's America, Trump's America is simply America. No place harbors sole ownership of its goodness:
When I asked why our book was banned, the school district said they did not even read it. They did it preemptively. In this essay, I detail the heartbreaking, eye opening experience of your work being kept away from students. Please check it out:
It's true! Come March, I'll be a staff writer at
@NewYorker
. Working at the Post had long been my biggest dream. A job at The New Yorker was beyond imagination. When they promised that I could add figure skating to my portfolio of covering America, a new possibility became real
From the start, black communities begged for help to fight coronavirus.
Then, they watched governments send testing to white areas instead.
They heard health officials warn against making the covid crisis about race.
And then they watched neighbors die:
Six years ago, a man set fire to a Somali restaurant in North Dakota hours after Donald Trump said Muslims should be banned from the country. That community says his words changed everything. The impact of his rhetoric is not new:
Jaw-dropping. "The spread of the coronavirus — which has sidelined roughly 10 percent of the agency’s core security team — is believed to be partly linked to a series of campaign rallies that President Trump held in the weeks before the Nov. 3 election" :
I don't even know where to begin about the many things I'll miss at
@washingtonpost
- there'll be a time for that later. That my bosses took such the time to write such a meaningful departure notice illustrates how lucky I've been. This place means so much to me.
This is George Floyd's handwriting, and these are the words. "Let this be the day I claim victory over this dark situation through the Holy Spirit," was his motivating phrase as he struggled with addiction. 'Twas an eye-opening journey learning about him:
To be Black in America. I’ve spent 2 years learning all I could about race, racism, police brutality & community while writing George Floyd’s biography. It was important, but draining. Yesterday I left my job and decided to take a month off before my next one because I needed it
I asked Kristi Yamaguchi in 2018 if she ever felt she stood out as an Asian American in
#figureskating
. She gave me this jaw-dropping anecdote, which I never heard before. It captures what a trailblazer she was. My story for
@PostSports
#beijing2022
:
I believe this is news: Biden calls for Congress to pass legislation to overhaul policing practices by the first anniversary of George Floyd’s death next month. First time he has put a deadline on it.
(Needless to say, doing so will be extremely difficult)
Black people have brought Joe Biden to the dance from the beginning. He wouldn’t have won his first election without the help of Mouse and Marty and, yes, Corn Pop (he was real). And now, they brought him to the presidency:
I am so glad I read this Rhonda Calvin story about the actual Green Book so I learned about its unbelievable history; and not from some typical, hackneyed film about interracial friendship. Here it is:
#oscars2019
"When I saw the video, I cried, and I wanted to destroy everything in my house. That’s the truth. We have been mistreated for 401 years! This is enough! I’m tired of this!” - the sole grandchild of Martin Luther King, Jr. She's 12. A quote so resonant:
I just came home after a long Sunday and noticed that there is some speculation over Joe Biden and Corn Pop. I’ve been to Wilmington and talked to folks who knew Joe at the pool and know some things, beyond the speculation. But first, please read story:
What's like to be black and poor right now: You go to work b/c you the cash. The supermarket has nothing; the corner store is closed. You get laid off and need food stamps, but the welfare office is only open 2 hours a day. You watch your neighbors die:
While reporting, friends asked me if the moms "wasted" the money. But when you have no income, any expenditure - from hair, to a sick day, to take your kids on vacation, isn't a waste -it's trying to attain an opportunity that you wouldn't have before:
They say we are biased and don’t cover America, but I am staring at a
@washingtonpost
A1 with stories that treat Southern evangelicals who live Trump, residents of a hog town in Virginia and the voices transgender men in Berkeley, Calif. with similar amounts of grace and nuance.
This is the Real America that voted for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Here are some of the hopes and dreams I found in one of the most diverse places on the planet:
I just talked with a 'dead' voter. She's alive & well, charming & sharp at 96. The president's campaign said James E. Blalock had voted even though he died in 2006. It wasMrs. James E. Blalock. She voted legally against Trump. She first voted for FDR. Intvw shortly
@11AliveNews
I am thrilled to announce that
@ToluseO
and I are working on a book that will serve as the biography of George Floyd and a tangible demonstration of how systemic racism shapes the lives of Black Americans. So grateful to the
@washingtonpost
and
@VikingBooks
for the opportunity!
When I went to Dallas after a sniper shot five cops at a police brutality protest, many figured the Black Lives Matter movement was over. Now it's more powerful than ever for reasons sad & simple: people kept organizing and cops kept killing black people:
Here's the thing: 300 was the presumed number you would need to medal. At 297, a medal is possible if we see some meltdowns. Unlikely, but ice is slippery and the sport is strange.
#pyeongchang2018
#figureskating
We won the Pulitzer Prize on Monday. It's still surreal. I humbly ask for you to reconsider picking up the work, which we hoped to educate readers about George Floyd's personhood and demystify the concept of systemic racism for our readers:
My first dispatch as a staff writer at
@NewYorker
is now leading its web site! I go in-depth on how national narratives and the culture wars swallow the efforts of a local government, based on the DC crime bill. check it:
Just because the number of food stamp recipients are down does not mean these people are getting jobs. In Wisconsin, as today's story showed, tens of thousands were dropped b/c of welfare reform and the state has little clue what happened to them.
Here’s a great stat - since January 2017, the number of people forced to use food stamps is down 1.9 million. The American people are finally back to work!
"What if I'm the White girl who ruined it?" - George Floyd's girlfriend Courteney Ross tried to balance mourning the loss her boyfriend while not centering herself in a movement about the liberation of black people. It was a fascinating month with her:
They live in the middle of the forest and have no cash left. There is no power and they are bathing in creeks. What it feels like to be left behind one week after Hurricane Michael:
@washingtonpost
I've returned to my job as a national enterprise reporter at The Washington Post! Just picked up my first few notepads and am so ready to fill them with stories from around the country!
The shy, hidden voters 2020 voters were not just Trump Republicans. They were Black people who were scared they'd be targets of racist violence if they showed support for Biden-Harris. It wasn't until AFTER the election that they put up signs:
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:
The part of this story in which
@wpjenna
describes how each presidential candidate that's met with a community organizing group in Milwaukee is a more revealing about their character than anything we've seen in a debate:
Five years ago, an elderly woman and former pro pitcher told me she had no doubt she could bring baseball back to the black community. Now a little league team named after her is among the best. Mamie Johnson is gone now, but she’s smiling from above today
I was so thrilled to be a part of this project am so excited that it won this competitive award! And personally, it was one of the most rewarding and important things I thought I could ever do as a reporter to help readers understand the tangible effects of systemic racism
Polk Award for Justice Reporting: The staff of The Washington Post for its six-part series “George Floyd’s America,” which revealed how systemic racism and police intimidation, among other things, had affected Floyd’s life, ultimately leading to his death.
Kamala Harris, incoming Vice President, doesn’t talk much about her father. But there is one part of her identity on which he had a singular impact. She talks to me about it here:
The plight of the poor. Even in a thriving economy, they might not have the training. If they have the training, they might not get an interview. If they get interview, they might not have reliable transportation. Or child care. Still, they try:
We've seen so many images of George Floyd's death. This series starts with him as a boy in his mother's arms. So excited for this series that looks at how systemic racism operated in that little boy's life, and the lives of so many Americans. Check it:
Our book was banned; it was no badge of honor. It was frustrating, heartbreaking, a disservice to students thirsty for knowledge. It was a stain on a great trip to Memphis, and I’m glad MCSC school is reconsidering its initial judgment and might place the book in its library.
New: Memphis students who heard from authors of “His Name is George Floyd” weren’t allowed to take the book home.
This is a story about how the fear of violating ambiguous state laws can put local communities at odds and shortchange students:
Shoma Uno is a maestro on the ice. I love watching him skate. Each step is like a brush stroke of an artist. Yes, I know I am mixing comparisons. I cannot help it.
#swoon
#Beijing2022WinterOlympics
Reporting this story showed me a lot of things. 1st was how present the misconception is that the poor remain poor because they don't know how to budget. The women I spoke to were adept at making money stretch. They were working but one wage wasn't enough:
George Floyd died because of a lack of oxygen due to Derek Chauvin placing 90+ pounds of force on the most fragile points of Floyd’s neck. Our research showed he did not show signs of a fentanyl overdose. This is fully in our book; this clip mangles coroner’s words unfairly
Tucker Carlson - Derek Chauvin is Serving 21 Years for a Crime he Didn’t Commit
• George Floyd Died of a Fentanyl Overdose established by the medical coroner
• Derek Chauvin, just after Thanksgiving, was stabbed 22 times by a known FBI informant
•…
What I love about Shoma Uno are his deep knees, core strength and great posture - it allows for a distinct landing style that’s remarkable.
#Beijing2022WinterOlympics
The Florida coronavirus task force met twice. It did not draft written recommendations or provided continual input. Meanwhile, one in nearly 50 have the disease:
She was told she was too old. She was given the explanation that she should stop. Nevertheless, she persisted!
That was the skate Aljona Savchenko waited her entire career to do !
#PyeongChang2018
#figureskating
I had the honor/burden of sitting next to David for 6 years. One day he came in with a pad and said something like, “I’m calling every charity to see if Donald Trump donated to them!” We thought he was insane. It was the start of the most remarkable run of coverage this century.
Early in his career, he actively dismissed those ideas, which are foundational to how we discuss and race and racism today. He relied on the relationships and the knowledge of his black friends. Give story a read, it’s more informed than the twitter takes:
I'm super glad to share something exciting: The Post has a new, long-form podcast called AllTold. And I'm featured on it today, telling the audio version of a story about universal basic income program in Jackson Mississippi. Check it out:
In some cool professional news: I’ll be teaching a class, via zoom, at Wake Forest this fall about Reporting and Race. We are gonna read a lot and discuss a lot and question a lot and hopefully it’ll be a lot of fun. (Just a side gig, I’m keeping my day job!)
Many have blamed Jackson's water crisis on "White flight" dwindling the tax base. Our reporting found that conclusion dangerously simplistic. We found an active, continuous struggle over who - and - how this majority-Black city should be managed:
“some senior officials worked behind the scenes to hold off a Trump meeting or call with Ukrainian President .. out of concern that Trump would use the conversation to press Kiev for damaging information on Trump’s potential rival in the 2020 race.....“:
Some thought
@davejorgenson
was just playing around on TikTok, but those of us who watched news organizations miss opportunities to seize new platforms, watching him work has been a relief. My tween nephew, who used to think I was a mailman, loves the Post. All b/c of Dave.
I’ve always loved the goofy content
@davejorgenson
produces for the
@washingtonpost
TikTok account, but I especially admire his recent work with WaPo colleagues to use his platform to educate his audience (primarily young users on the app) on complicated topics of race
This was the bigger point of the story, which harkens today: Joe Biden clearly wanted to get to know and be involved in the lives of black people. Absent of that was an analysis or a willingness to understand the impact of structural and systemic racism.
I spoke with Robin Freeman-Brooks this morning to let her know how people responded to my tweets yesterday about her dad, James Freeman*, who suffered many indignities at the end of his life because he contracted covid-19. She had these words to say about the president:
The more I hear about President Trump's covid treatment, the more I think about the late James Brooks, an 80-year-old black man who lived outside Detroit. He left Mississippi for Detroit and built a middle-class life for his family as a company man at Chrysler.
Also, yes, Wilmington was highly segregated in 1962 and many of the black people who I spoke with did in fact say Joe Biden was the first white person they knew who really listened to them and had a heart for them.
I spoke to Pete Buttigieg and those who knew him about how he learned to understand his privileges as a white person and the everyday nature of racism. It was filled with fascinating, honest conversations that help us understand who he is:
The creation of the American suburban dream Is inextricably tied to the interstate highway system, which decimated black neighborhoods and facilitated white flight:
Our reporting showed blacks cities were rebuffed for weeks when they begged state and federal governments to send masks and tests to protect themselves from covid-19. Now comes this story:
The images of George Floyd dying changed us. But you can't fully understand the meaning of his death until you understand the role racism played in his life. Here again is the link to George Floyd's America, the most exhaustive telling of that story:
I was reading this amazing
@sullivank
story about
@AndrewYang
when I learned Yang and I shared something in common: We both represented the US at the World Schools Debating Championships! But enough about me:
Remember this morning when we thought the day might be about Stacey Abrams and the contributions of black voters but that story was subsumed by an armed, scary temper tantrum from a mostly white mob? It’s a version of a movie we’ve seen before but nonetheless breathtaking
There’s more to say. But it can wait. I’m learning some more details on this case to see where my reporting skills might fit in. I’m grateful to all of the journalists on the ground who are doing the work respectfully, diligently and with sensitivity. We need you to be good.
What I’ve learned: it’s important to have a mission in life and to do your part to help ensure the world is a better place. But it’s also important to recognize that your part isn’t everything. No one can fix the world alone, even when we feel an usual obligation to do it all.
If you’ve invoked the name “George Floyd” as a part of a protest or as short hand for injusfice, remember he was a real person of flesh and blood. And he too has a story. This podcast is his story:
As
@MichelleWKwan
would say, sport is about the moment and not the medal. It was a lesson she taught all her fans, who grew up stronger because of her example. And now, Nathan Chen serves as an inspiration and role model for a new generation. Whoa.
#figureskating
#pyeongchang2018