Aretha Franklin was awarded a Special Pulitzer Prize citation in 2019.
The Pulitzer Prize Board announced Franklin’s posthumous Special Citation on April 15, 2019. It honored her “indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades,” recognizing an influence that extended far beyond individual recordings or chart achievements.
Franklin died in August 2018, so the honor was awarded after her death. Clive Davis and Gwendolyn Quinn accepted the citation on her behalf at the Pulitzer ceremony in New York in May 2019. Franklin became the first individual woman to receive a Pulitzer Special Citation.
This was not the regular Pulitzer Prize for Music, which normally recognizes a specific musical work. A Special Citation is an exceptional honor the Pulitzer Board can give to a person or organization for outstanding achievement. Franklin’s citation placed her legacy alongside other major recipients honored for broad, enduring contributions to American culture.