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
Forgive me for being the ant at the picnic. Certainly, this is a glad moment, an ecstatic and delirious moment.... Read More
Forgive me for being the ant at the picnic. Certainly, this is a glad moment, an ecstatic and delirious moment. The election of 2020 has ended at last. Joe Biden is finally the president-elect and Donald Trump is finally consigned to the dank well of ignominy... Read More
Bruce Springsteen is wrestling with death. You hear him as you float high above leafless trees dusted with snow. The... Read More
Bruce Springsteen is wrestling with death. You hear him as you float high above leafless trees dusted with snow. The scene, captured in creamy tones of black and white, is one of beauty almost unbearably elegiac, sacred in its stillness. Then he speaks, giving words to... Read More
America is not guaranteed. There is, in other words, nothing foreordained about this country someday returning to anything approximating normal.... Read More
America is not guaranteed. There is, in other words, nothing foreordained about this country someday returning to anything approximating normal. That’s important to keep in mind as we await results of the most critical U.S. election since 1860, when Abraham Lincoln came to power in an... Read More
Dear Jared Kushner: So I see where you think you’ve figured out what’s wrong with Black people. Monday, you shared... Read More
Dear Jared Kushner: So I see where you think you’ve figured out what’s wrong with Black people. Monday, you shared it on Fox “News.” ”One thing we’ve seen in a lot of the Black community,” you said, “which is mostly Democrat, is that President Trump’s policies... Read More
You did not stand up. Granted, America faced neither enemy bombers nor terrorist plot, but the threat to her was... Read More
You did not stand up. Granted, America faced neither enemy bombers nor terrorist plot, but the threat to her was — still is — no less real. Your country needed you. And you did not stand up. You told yourself party was more important. You told... Read More
“Jared Kushner is under federal investigation for diverting money to terrorist organizations according to a guy I met at the... Read More
“Jared Kushner is under federal investigation for diverting money to terrorist organizations according to a guy I met at the gas station who told me he works for the FBI” is something I would never be allowed to publish. “Donald Trump Jr. has an escalating cocaine... Read More
Just last week, the headlines were inescapable. They stemmed from a story in The Atlantic detailing what amounts to the... Read More
Just last week, the headlines were inescapable. They stemmed from a story in The Atlantic detailing what amounts to the Republican Party plotting a coup. Which is to say, cooking up Electoral College schemes designed to keep Donald Trump in office even if voters turn him... Read More
LOS ANGELES - We gave a damn too late. Sometimes, I think that will be the legacy of this generation.... Read More
LOS ANGELES - We gave a damn too late. Sometimes, I think that will be the legacy of this generation. Or maybe I’m just tired of seeing people walking around without masks as if a pandemic had not taken almost 200,000 American lives. Then again, it... Read More
We weren’t going to normalize this. Remember that? Remember the way many of us solemnly vowed we would always maintain... Read More
We weren’t going to normalize this. Remember that? Remember the way many of us solemnly vowed we would always maintain the ability to be outraged, hold on to our capacity for shock? Well, after almost four years that have passed like geologic time, that declaration feels... Read More
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WASHINGTON — Even years after the fact, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden recalled the moment with a sense of astonished... Read More
WASHINGTON — Even years after the fact, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden recalled the moment with a sense of astonished disbelief. Biden was second lady, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, at the time, and Maria Shriver was the... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration approved Pivya (pivmecillinam) tablets for the treatment of female adults with uncomplicated urinary... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration approved Pivya (pivmecillinam) tablets for the treatment of female adults with uncomplicated urinary tract infections. “Uncomplicated UTIs are a very common condition impacting women and one of the most frequent reasons for antibiotic... Read More
Nearly everyone has an opinion on whether the United States should force a TikTok ban over national security concerns. Voters support a... Read More
Nearly everyone has an opinion on whether the United States should force a TikTok ban over national security concerns. Voters support a ban, Trump opposes a ban and Biden just signed Congress’ divestment bill. Everyone from security hawks to tech experts to “suburbanites” have weighed in. But what gets lost... Read More
NEWARK, N.J. — Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., the former city council president who succeeded his father in the House... Read More
NEWARK, N.J. — Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., the former city council president who succeeded his father in the House and represented his district for more than a decade, died Wednesday morning. Payne’s death was confirmed by New Jersey Gov.... Read More
WASHINGTON — Three Madonna fans are suing the singer for her late arrival and quality of her performance in December... Read More
WASHINGTON — Three Madonna fans are suing the singer for her late arrival and quality of her performance in December in Washington, D.C. The lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeks class action certification.... Read More
NEW ORLEANS — The Biden administration will hold up to a dozen offshore wind energy lease sales through 2028, Interior... Read More
NEW ORLEANS — The Biden administration will hold up to a dozen offshore wind energy lease sales through 2028, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced Wednesday morning. In remarks at the International Partnering Forum conference in New Orleans, Haaland said the... Read More
