Leonard Pitts Jr.
Leonard Pitts Jr. joined The Miami Herald in 1991 as its pop music critic and has penned a syndicated column focusing on pop culture, social issues and family life since 1994. Leonard Pitts is the author of six books, his latest, "Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood," was published in 1999.
Pitts has been writing professionally since 1976 when, as an 18-year-old college student, he began writing freelance reviews and profiles for Soul, a national black entertainment tabloid. In 1978, he became its editor. In the years since, Pitts' work has appeared in such publications as Musician, Spin, TV Guide, Reader's Digest and Parenting. In addition, he wrote, produced and syndicated "Who We Are," an award-winning 1988 radio documentary on the history of black America, and has written and produced numerous other radio programs on subjects as diverse as Madonna and Martin Luther King, Jr. Pitts was also a writer for radio's popular countdown program, "Casey's Top 40 with Casey Kasem."
Leonard Pitts is a four-time winner of the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors' Award for Excellence in Commentary, a five-time winner of the National Headliners Award given by the Press Club of Atlantic City, and a six-time winner of the Green Eyeshade Award given by the Society of Professional Journalists. The Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Editor and Publisher magazine and GLAAD Media, among others, have also honored him. In 2002, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists awarded Pitts its inaugural Columnist of the Year award, and in 2004 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary.
Leonard Pitts Jr. Samples
In Florida, timely injustice
At great political peril, George Ryan did the right thing. Not to canonize the man.
What was the IRS thinking?
Well, this is a fine mess. After years of moaning about various "conspiracies" against them, conservative activists finally have a real piece of evidence to take before the court of public opinion.
Ignoring the real while fighting the imaginary
It should've been the shot heard around the world. An ominous sort of history was made last week near Austin, Texas, but it seems to have largely escaped notice.
Running from life
Brenda Heist wanted to run away from life. The first time I was down there, I saw a highway sign that, for me, perfectly captured the meaning of that place. No South, you understand.
In Texas, black means future danger
If the state of Texas executes Duane Buck, it'll be because he is black.
Jason Collins scores for gay rights
Boom. And just like that, history is made. "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center," writes Jason Collins in the May 6 edition of Sports Illustrated. Boom. Chances are, you never heard of Collins before this week.
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