Leonard Pitts
Leonard Pitts Jr. joined The Miami Herald in 1991 as its pop music critic. In 1994, he began writing a column on pop culture and social issues. Working out of Washington, D.C., Pitts continues to defend and define American culture in unique and interesting ways.
He is the author of several books, including “Freeman,” “Before I Forget,” and “Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood.”
Pitts began writing as a freelance music critic for Soul magazine in 1976 at 18. In the years since, Pitts’ work has appeared in Musician, Spin, TV Guide, Reader’s Digest and Parenting.
In addition, Pitts wrote, produced and syndicated “Who We Are,” an award-winning radio documentary on the history of black America, and has written and produced radio programs on subjects as diverse as Madonna and Martin Luther King Jr.
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 & Publisher magazine and GLAAD Media, among others, have also honored him. In 2002, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists named Pitts Columnist of the Year, and in 2004 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary.
Readers may contact him via e-mail at [email protected].
Recent Work
We don’t even know the woman’s name yet. In fact, we don’t know much of anything about her except that... Read More
We don’t even know the woman’s name yet. In fact, we don’t know much of anything about her except that she is Black. That’s not a lot, but it’s more than enough for some people. Ever since last week, when Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced... Read More
These days, we have Denzel Washington. We have Viola Davis, Kevin Hart and Jamie Foxx. We have Octavia Spencer, Regina... Read More
These days, we have Denzel Washington. We have Viola Davis, Kevin Hart and Jamie Foxx. We have Octavia Spencer, Regina King and Samuel L. Jackson. We have Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Taraji P. Henson, Michael B. Jordan, Mahershala Ali, Tiffany Haddish and Will Smith. We have,... Read More
Abraham could have asked for anything. The Make-A-Wish folks stood ready to make a dream come true for the 13-year-old... Read More
Abraham could have asked for anything. The Make-A-Wish folks stood ready to make a dream come true for the 13-year-old boy, who has aplastic anemia, a life-threatening blood disorder. But Adeola “Abraham” Olagbegi didn’t ask for a PS5 or a day with LeBron James. No, he... Read More
Why would they do this? That question rises inevitably from a new wave of so-called flash-mob robberies, thieves by the... Read More
Why would they do this? That question rises inevitably from a new wave of so-called flash-mob robberies, thieves by the dozens invading retail stores to simply take what they want. It’s happened in California, Illinois, Minnesota and Maryland. Retailers ranging from Nordstrom to 7-Eleven have been... Read More
Isabella Tichenor killed herself a few days ago. She was 10 years old. Her mother, Brittany Tichenor-Cox, said last week... Read More
Isabella Tichenor killed herself a few days ago. She was 10 years old. Her mother, Brittany Tichenor-Cox, said last week that her daughter — she called her “Izzy” — had been the target of ongoing racist abuse from classmates at her school in North Salt Lake,... Read More
As police misbehavior goes, it was a small thing. No one was killed, or shot, or even arrested. But in... Read More
As police misbehavior goes, it was a small thing. No one was killed, or shot, or even arrested. But in a sense, that gives it all the more impact. Shorn of the distracting emotionalism of bloodshed or false arrest, last week’s video recording of an incident... Read More
Condoleezza Rice wants to move on. She concedes that what happened on Jan. 6 was “wrong.” It was, she told... Read More
Condoleezza Rice wants to move on. She concedes that what happened on Jan. 6 was “wrong.” It was, she told the hosts of “The View” last week, an “assault on law and order, and an assault on our democratic processes.” And Rice, a former national security... Read More
They told them they had bad blood. What they actually had was syphilis, but the U.S. Public Health Service never... Read More
They told them they had bad blood. What they actually had was syphilis, but the U.S. Public Health Service never shared that diagnosis with the almost 400 African American men, most of them poor and under-educated sharecroppers, they recruited for a secret study at Tuskegee Institute... Read More
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” — Martin Luther King Dr. King didn’t... Read More
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” — Martin Luther King Dr. King didn’t know the half of it. Those words, after all, are from 1963. Back then, the idea of U.S. citizens and lawmakers attacking their own democracy would... Read More
In The News
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WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee announced Monday that it has begun an investigation into allegations Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C.,... Read More
WASHINGTON — The House Ethics Committee announced Monday that it has begun an investigation into allegations Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., improperly promoted a cryptocurrency and engaged in an “inappropriate relationship” with a member of his staff. The committee did not... Read More
WASHINGTON — A federal court ruled last week that Bank of America can be sued over an investment manager’s decision... Read More
WASHINGTON — A federal court ruled last week that Bank of America can be sued over an investment manager’s decision to sell a customer’s stock in what appears to be a sign of the times as the U.S. economy tilts... Read More
ALBANY, N.Y. — A state court judge formally approved a controversial new congressional map Friday night, ratifying a map that... Read More
ALBANY, N.Y. — A state court judge formally approved a controversial new congressional map Friday night, ratifying a map that could prove costly to Democrats while forcing two of the state’s most prominent House members to square off against each... Read More
WASHINGTON — The federal judiciary in Washington, D.C., is investigating how embarrassing results of an employee survey were leaked to... Read More
WASHINGTON — The federal judiciary in Washington, D.C., is investigating how embarrassing results of an employee survey were leaked to the media recently. The confidential survey revealed that some employees of U.S. District Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals... Read More
LAFAYETTE, La. — A federal judge in Louisiana on Friday blocked the Biden administration from letting Title 42 expire as... Read More
LAFAYETTE, La. — A federal judge in Louisiana on Friday blocked the Biden administration from letting Title 42 expire as it was originally planned to do this week. District Judge Robert Summerhays of the U.S. District Court for Western Louisiana... Read More
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia takes center stage in Tuesday's primary elections as Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger try to fight back challengers... Read More
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia takes center stage in Tuesday's primary elections as Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger try to fight back challengers endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who is seeking revenge for his 2020 election defeat in the state. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor... Read More
