A More Perfect Union, The Inquirer’s year-long project that examined the roots of systemic racism through Philadelphia institutions, has been recognized with several awards. The series has won a Digital Merit Award from the Society of Publication Designers; its “Lights. Camera. Crime” installment is a finalist for a 2023 Mirror Award from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School; and Wesley Lowery has won the 2022 Vernon Jarrett Medal for Journalistic Excellence for his work on the “Black City, White Paper” installment.
The SPD Merit Awards — “the world’s best creative competition for editorial content” — cited A More Perfect Union’s digital presentation, led by Dain Saint, for Custom Feature Design for a Series. Other Digital Merit winners this year include ESPN, NBC News, The New York Times, and Vanity Fair.
The Mirror Awards — “the most important awards for recognizing excellence in media industry reporting” — recognized Layla A. Jones’ reporting as a finalist for Best Single Article/Story. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in New York on June 12.
The Vernon Jarrett Medal — recognizing “a journalist who has published or broadcast stories that are of significant importance or had a significant impact on some aspect of Black life in America” — is named after the late Chicago columnist and founding member of the NABJ. Wesley’s report on The Inquirer’s racial reckoning in the wake of George Floyd’s murder earned him this year’s award, which comes with a $10,000 prize.
Please join us in congratulating Dain, Layla, Wesley, and the entire team that contributed to A More Perfect Union.
