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
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In Washington recently members of Congress heard testimony on a topic that, admittedly, is unlikely to dominate headlines as 2023... Read More
In Washington recently members of Congress heard testimony on a topic that, admittedly, is unlikely to dominate headlines as 2023 limps to a close. But the focus of the hearing — outdoor recreation — nonetheless has the power to transform... Read More
Google took its next leap in artificial intelligence Wednesday with the launch of project Gemini, an AI model trained to behave in... Read More
Google took its next leap in artificial intelligence Wednesday with the launch of project Gemini, an AI model trained to behave in human-like ways that's likely to intensify the debate about the technology’s potential promise and perils. The rollout will unfold in... Read More
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Norman Lear, the writer, director and producer who revolutionized prime time television with "All in the... Read More
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Norman Lear, the writer, director and producer who revolutionized prime time television with "All in the Family," “The Jeffersons” and “Maude,” propelling political and social turmoil into the once-insulated world of TV sitcoms, has died. He... Read More
ALBANY, N.Y. — The special election to replace disgraced former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., will be held on Feb. 13,... Read More
ALBANY, N.Y. — The special election to replace disgraced former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., will be held on Feb. 13, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday evening. As previously reported by The Well News, Santos was expelled from the... Read More
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., announced Tuesday that he would drop his opposition to nearly all military promotions, a... Read More
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., announced Tuesday that he would drop his opposition to nearly all military promotions, a blockade he imposed to protest the Pentagon’s decision to ensure abortion access to service members. Tuberville had placed holds on... Read More
WASHINGTON — The House will vote next week on formally authorizing its impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, Speaker Mike... Read More
WASHINGTON — The House will vote next week on formally authorizing its impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, Speaker Mike Johnson said during a briefing with reporters Tuesday morning, saying Republicans have “no choice” but to push ahead in light... Read More
