NEW YORK — Two freelance journalists are the recipients of the 2021 American Mosaic Journalism Prize for work about underrepresented or misrepresented groups, which comes with a $100,000 award for each of them.
The awards from the Heising-Simons Foundation are for excellence in long-form or narrative work.
David Dennis, Jr., who is based in Atlanta, wrote an Atlanta magazine piece, “Ahmaud Arbery Will Not be Erased,” about the murder of a young Black man in Georgia. Dennis, who teaches journalism at Morehouse College, frequently writes about race, politics, civil rights, sports and entertainment.
“I often write about the person who is the one marginalized voice in the room so they feel less alone,” Dennis said.
The other prize winner is Michelle Garcia, who splits time between New York City and Texas. The foundation said her work “has both unveiled human rights abuses and celebrated the humanity of those living in limbo at the U.S.-Mexico border.” Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Columbia Journalism Review and elsewhere.
Garcia is also working on a book about borders and their influence shaping U.S. identity and race relations.
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This story corrects the publication name to Atlanta magazine.
The Associated Press
