NEW YORK – The book “His Name Is George Floyd,” on the 2020 Minneapolis police slaying that stirred national dialogue on policing practices, has won a Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction. The authors, Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa of the Washington Post, traces Floyd’s life through generations of systemic white exploitation of black Americans. Samuels explained: “We learned that at every turn, George Floyd’s life and his ancestors were shaped by racism.” The sad trail:
> After emancipation during the Civil War, Floyd’s great grandfather amassed 500 acres of land in eastern North Carolina and was becoming wealthy went he was tricked and bamboozled out of it.
> The generations that followed, the authors conclude, never had a chance.
> Floyd himself grew up in school systems that were crumbling and under-resourced. So, in effect, he majored in football and showed promise. He was told to focus on sports, not to study, and found himself unable to qualify college.
> As an adult, unable to go to college, he found himself in a Texas neighborhood with a large police presence due to the war on drugs.
> He was arrested for armed robbery and pleaded guilty. He said he didn’t do it but pleaded guilty because, down on his luck, he felt there was no better choice.
> On release from prison he couldn’t find a job. Texas law forbids felons from any professional license. He got hooked on drugs but tried to kick it. From friends he learned about treatment centers in Minneapolis with a record for helping people get healthy and thrive. He moved to Minnesota.
> He worked at a homeless shelter, where he met black people who had lived through heavy-handed Minneapolis policing against minorities. His hopes of a new life in Minnesota were punctured. A fear of police deepened.
Subtitle: “One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice.” By Robert Samuels and Tolusa Olorunnipa, who cover politics, policy and the changing American identity for the Washington Post. Based on interviews with 400 people. Published by Random House