Leading The New York Times with "The Battle for George Floyd Square."
Our documentary offers a comprehensive and nuanced look into the memorial that has become a controversy of its own.
Today is a monumental day in my life and career. After three weeks of filming, our short documentary “Inside the Battle over George Floyd Square” is leading the front page of the Sunday edition of The New York Times. This piece has been one of the most challenging, labor-intensive and risky projects I’ve taken on in my ten years as a journalist, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to see it run in such a prestigious and wide-reaching publication.
For the last year, George Floyd Square in south Minneapolis has been a hub for community members to mourn and remember the life of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed during a routine arrest last May, the viral video of officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck prompting protests across the city and the nation.
But while George Floyd Square began as a rallying point in the fight for racial justice, has, in the last year, transformed into a contested space and autonomous zone that some say is harboring violence and criminal activity like “a festering wound.”
From activists and business owners to community members and pastors, and the Mayor of Minneapolis, I sat down with dozens of sources to create a comprehensive and nuanced look into the memorial site that has become a controversy of its own.
What started as a simple story idea jotted on a notepad three weeks ago quickly steamrolled into 70+ hours of pre-production, eight days of filming and countless hours editing and shaping the narrative, and I am beyond thrilled - and relieved - to see this piece hit the front page of The New York Times.
As always, many thanks to our wonderful and expansive team, especially Emma Cott, Brian Dawson, Erik Ljung, Hanaan Sarhan, Jonah Kessel and Solana Pyne.
Watch “Inside the Battle over George Floyd Square” on The New York Times today.
Thank you and much love,