Carmilla Floyd, born in Los Angeles and raised in Stockholm, is a writer and human rights expert focusing on child rights, criminal justice, and migration. She founded the youth magazine Ocean and authored several books, including Respekt: Gang Violence in Los Angeles, shortlisted for Sweden’s August Prize.
Her work has taken her across the US, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, earning recognition from UNESCO, the Swedish Institute, the Swedish Academy, and the Swedish Association of Investigative Journalism. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, Svenska Dagbladet, and Dagens Nyheter, and her documentaries have been broadcast on Swedish Public Radio and Television.
Alongside her writing, Floyd develops multilingual platforms on children’s rights and has led journalism workshops in fragile contexts like Vietnam and Belarus. She contributes to The Globe, the magazine of the World’s Children’s Prize Foundation, and regularly guest lectures at universities and art schools in Stockholm and Gothenburg.
Beyond Respekt follows youngsters in East Los Angeles from 1994 to 2025, growing into adulthood amid gangs, hardship, strong families, and rich Latine culture. For over thirty years, Rodríguez and Carmilla Floyd have documented their lives as they become adults, parents, and, in some cases, grandparents.
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