Leonard Pitts

Leonard Pitts, Jr. is a nationally-syndicated columnist and winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. He was originally hired by the Miami Herald to critique music, but within a few years he received his own column in which he dealt extensively with race, politics, and culture. He lives in Bowie, Maryland. He has won awards for his writing from the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Newspaper Editors, and was first nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1993, eventually claiming the honor in 2004. He is also the author of the bestselling book "Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood".

Pitts gained national recognition for his widely-circulated column of September 12, 2001, "We'll Go Forward From This Moment," in which he described the toughness of the American spirit even in the face of such a horrible attack. [Citation|last = Pitts|first = Leonard|title = We'll Go Forward From This Moment|newspaper = Miami Herald|year = 2001|date = 2001-09-12|url = http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/story/374188.html]

Harassment

In June 2007, Pitts was the subject of a campaign of death threats and harassment by neo-Nazis angry at a column he wrote about two whites raped and murdered in Knoxville, Tennessee. In his column addressing the murders, Pitts stated "for the crackpots, incendiaries and flat-out racists who have chosen this tragedy upon which to take an obscene and ludicrous stand. I have four words for them and any other white Americans who feel themselves similarly victimized. Cry me a river." [cite web|title=The loonies of Knoxville
url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003731134_pitts03.html]

More death threats were made in April 2008 before his appearance at the University of Puget Sound. [ [http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/333297.html Shameful death threats mar Pitts’ visit here | TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA ] ]

List of Newspapers Printing His Syndicated Column

(incomplete as of May 8, 2007)
* "Miami Herald" (his home newspaper)
* "The American Press"
* "The Asheville Citizen-Times"
* "Athens Banner-Herald"
* "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"
* "Austin American-Statesman"
* "Arizona Daily Star" Tucson, AZ
* "Baltimore Sun"
* "The Birmingham News"
* "The Buffalo News"
* "Chicago Tribune"
* "The Columbus Dispatch"
* "The Daily Dispatch (Henderson, NC)"
* "The Dayton Daily News"
* "The Detroit Free Press"
* "The Express-Times" Easton, PA
* "The Gazette (Cedar Rapids)"
* "The Honolulu Advertiser"
* "The Janesville Gazette (Wis.)"
* "The Lawrence Journal World"
* "The News Tribune"
* "The Oregonian"
* "The Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle"
* "The Southern Illinoisian"
* "The Richmond Times Dispatch"
* "The Green Bay Press-Gazette"

Citations

External links

* [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/8364039.htm Herald columnist Pitts wins Pulitzer for commentary]
* [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/leonard_pitts/ Recent Columns]
* [http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2007/06/report_black_co.html USA Today: FBI Probes White Supremacists' Threats Against Black Columnists]
* [http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/146399.html FBI probing threats to Miami Herald's Pitts]