Every year Columbia University hands out Pulitzer Price awards to those they consider the best and elite in various forms of writing. Writers from Newspapers, Magazines, Music, Online Journalism and Literature are honored for their talent, creative expression, and timeless work. This year, many are excited hear about two of these award winners; Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah and Kendrick Lamar.
Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah
Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah is receiving a Pulitzer for writing about something that still affects many of us til this day. She wrote the piece: “A Most American Terrorist: The Making Of Dylann Roof”. She spent month right here in South researching Roof’s family members, teachers, friends, and the victims’ family and associates, to find out more about one of the most evil people this country has ever seen. This is the first Pulitzer win for any journalist from GQ magazine. According to the New York Times, 36-year-old Ghansah stated she first thought her piece would be centered around the family of the victims but that “it felt inappropriate to keep probing them while allowing Dylann Roof to have the sanctity of silence we often afford white domestic terrorists.”
On yesterday, Ghansah even had Ava Duvernay shout her out on Twitter, where she described her as “a mighty mind and a vital voice.”
The Pulitzer committee chose Ghansah for the “Feature Writer” award because they felt her piece was a, “unique and powerful mix of reportage, first-person reflection and analysis of the historical and cultural forces.”
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar is also being honored for the album DAMN and is making history; this is the first hip-hop work to earn a Pulitzer Prize Award. This is a win for the culture! The Pulitzer committee described DAMN as:
“a virtuostic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African American life.”
Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and Kendrick Lamar are the only non-classical or jazz musicians to be recognized for this honor.
This year, the Pulitzer Prize committee chose some epic pieces, including photography and and breaking news, for these awards. You can review the entire list here.
Source: New York Times
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