The Pulitzer Prize jury has the option of awarding special citations and awards where they consider necessary. Prizes for the award vary. The Pulitzer Prize Board has stated that the Special Citations given to George Gershwin, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Duke Ellington were in response to criticism for the failure of the Board to cite the four. On 11 June 2021, Darnella Frazier was announced as the recipient of a Pulitzer Special Citation.