Good afternoon and welcome to the awards ceremony of the 2019 Pulitzer Prizes. My name is Dana Canedy and I am the administrator of the Prizes.
We are delighted to have you here to celebrate the 103rd class of Pulitzer honorees. There is so much to be proud of in the extraordinary work that was selected from an especially competitive field of nominees this year.
That said, I must confess that I had a favorite among all the entries! It was a submission that did not win but, as I said on Announcement Day, is one that should give us all hope for the future of American journalism.
The entry was from the staff of The Eagle Eye student newspaper at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which submitted the obituaries of 17 classmates, teachers and coaches who were killed during a tragic shooting inside their school in Parkland Florida last year.
One of the students from The Eagle Eye said in a recent article in the Sun Sentinel newspaper that, “English class doesn’t teach you how to write obituaries when you are in high school.” And yet, that is exactly what these student journalists did.
The Eagle Eye’s Pulitzer application stated that the student reporters and editors had to “put aside our grief and recognize our roles as both survivors, journalists and loved ones of the deceased.”
These budding journalists remind us of the media’s unwavering commitment to bearing witness — even in the most wrenching of circumstances.
There is hope in their example for our noble profession, which is why I am honored to have them here as my guests today. Would the journalists from the Eagle Eye please stand and be recognized in what I am certain will not be your last appearance at a Pulitzer Prize awards ceremony?
Bravery and commitment to purpose was a palpable theme of this year’s prizes. It served to remind us that, of course the press will endure, even as security threats to journalists are greater than ever. And even as some wrongly degrade the media as an enemy of the very democracy it serves. That is false marketing, not fake news and we should call it out as such because, as the founding fathers knew well, there can be no democracy without a free press.
That is something Rebecca Smith, Wendi Winters, Rob Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman and John McNamara understood well. They understood it when they went to work last June at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md. and were gunned down by a madman who opened fire in their newsroom. We are honored to have the staff and family members of the Capital Gazette with us here today as well, and we salute you for your courage and your perseverance and are so deeply sorry for your loss.
We also remember the courage of Jamal Khashoggi, whose colleagues from the Washington Post are here today. Mr. Khashoggi knew the risk when he wrote truth to power at The Post before being murdered last year inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey. His legacy lives on for countless journalists who are inspired by his unflinching dedication to telling the stories he believed should be told.
Time and again, journalists during the past year produced work that could never be dismissed as fake. That work includes reporting by two of this year’s winners, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo of Reuters.
They were sent to prison for impactful reporting in Myanmar that upheld the highest principles and ideals of our industry. Thankfully, they were freed by presidential pardon earlier this month after serving 511 days of a seven-year sentence. Upon their release, one of the first things Wa Lone said was, “I can’t wait to go to my newsroom.”
Well, I spoke with both of the journalists last week and they said they also could not wait to be with all of you. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are indeed here today and I invite them now to join me on stage.
What an inspiration.
Just as in journalism, in the arts and letters categories as well, our winners this year reflect a dedication to purpose that is revealed through extraordinary work that shines a light on the pride, the potential and also the pain of the times. They include books, music and drama that inform, uplift and at times anger us about some of the most pressing social, political and cultural issues of the day. They are expressions of creative freedom about gender, poverty, race and history that prompt us to consider the impact of our actions and policies on the communities and world we inhabit. The winning work reflects American music, literature and drama at its finest.
In honor of one of our arts winners, Ms. Aretha Franklin, and in tribute to all here whose lives were devastated by gun violence we will have some special musical presentations this afternoon.
To begin, I have the pleasure of introducing two divinely gifted musical guests who have generously donated their time and talent to perform for you. They are Damien Sneed and Brandie Inez Sutton.
Mr. Sneed is a multi-genre recording artist, producer, composer, conductor and music educator. He is a protégé of Pulitzer Prize Winner Wynton Marsalis and has toured with the Queen of Soul.
Ms. Sutton has appeared on opera stages across the globe, including Carnegie Hall and is currently a soprano with the Metropolitan Opera. In fact, earlier in her career, she won an Aretha Franklin Opera Competition.
Indeed, the impact of Ms. Franklin’s influence in American music lives on in these two artists. In that spirit, we invite you to relax and enjoy your meals as we begin the program with performances by Mr. Sneed and Ms. Sutten. Thank you!
Before we close out our program, we have another, very special musical presentation for you, by an artist whose performance here today is deeply personal. She too has unfortunately experienced unfathomable loss due to gun violence. But she is also here in celebration of the life of Aretha Franklin. In fact, she performed at Ms. Franklin’s funeral and will portray her in an upcoming biopic about the music legend.
Ladies and gentleman, please welcome Oscar winner and Broadway alum, Ms. Jennifer Hudson.