Race and ethnicity journalist Kat Stafford delivered a bold, smart story exploring how this pivotal presidential election became a referendum on the future of race relations in America.

Stafford, based in Detroit, gathered a range of local and national voices to tell the story of how the U.S. is being forced to confront systemic racism in an election year in which the coronavirus pandemic, economic uncertainty and police brutality have converged. One of those voices was that of Omari Barksdale, a Black man who was impacted by the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And more personally, he lost his sister to COVID. Photographer Paul Sancya met with Barksdale and captured him in strong portraits that complemented the text story.

Stafford also landed interviews with notable national figures, including civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton who said the “soul of the nation” was “at risk.”

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Priscilla Duerrero from Boston, currently living in Washington, attends the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Aug. 28, 2020, on the 57th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

AP Photo / Julio Cortez

Stafford, based in Detroit, gathered a range of local and national voices to tell the story of how the U.S. is being forced to confront systemic racism in an election year in which the coronavirus pandemic, economic uncertainty and police brutality have converged. One of those voices was that of Omari Barksdale, a Black man who was impacted by the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And more personally, he lost his sister to COVID. Photographer Paul Sancya met with Barksdale and captured him in strong portraits that complemented the text story.

Stafford also landed interviews with notable national figures, including civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton who said the “soul of the nation” was “at risk.”