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
The American Cemetery at Normandy sits on a bluff overlooking the beach where, on June 6, 1944, American soldiers waded... Read More
The American Cemetery at Normandy sits on a bluff overlooking the beach where, on June 6, 1944, American soldiers waded ashore to begin the invasion of France. The old battlefield is marked with shell craters and gun pits offering mute testimony to the fury of that... Read More
This is almost four months early. Ordinarily, Christmas trees are looking peaked, and George Bailey has long since realized that... Read More
This is almost four months early. Ordinarily, Christmas trees are looking peaked, and George Bailey has long since realized that he had a wonderful life when pundits begin to summarize the year and assign it a theme. But given the eight long months of 2020 we’ve... Read More
Apparently, I am supposed to be embarrassed now. That, at least, is my interpretation of a few strange tweets and... Read More
Apparently, I am supposed to be embarrassed now. That, at least, is my interpretation of a few strange tweets and emails that have come my way in the week since Attorney General William Barr issued his summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Donald Trump.... Read More
If you think you're angry now, wait till you read the court documents. Not that the summaries of a college... Read More
If you think you're angry now, wait till you read the court documents. Not that the summaries of a college cheating scandal so massive it briefly bumped Donald Trump from the "Breaking News" chyrons were not enough to make a nun cuss. Indeed, the story offered... Read More
As a general rule, I don't curse a lot. I've found that I can usually express myself effectively enough without ... Read More
As a general rule, I don't curse a lot. I've found that I can usually express myself effectively enough without it. And it's always seemed to me that foul language, used ubiquitously, loses its primary value, i.e., its ability to... Read More
On the last night of the Republican National Convention in 1988, the candidate sought to impart to the country a vision ... Read More
On the last night of the Republican National Convention in 1988, the candidate sought to impart to the country a vision of the America it could be. "Some," he said, "would say it's soft and insufficiently tough to care" about troubled children. Read More
I said it before, I'll say it again. "As this country becomes blacker, browner, gayer, younger, more Hispanic and more ... Read More
I said it before, I'll say it again. "As this country becomes blacker, browner, gayer, younger, more Hispanic and more Muslim, it is increasingly the case that the GOP cannot win if all voters vote. It cannot win, in other words, without cheating." Read More
The United States is composed of 329 million people spread over 3.8 million square miles. In population and landmass, it's a pretty ... Read More
The United States is composed of 329 million people spread over 3.8 million square miles. In population and landmass, it's a pretty big place. But those are not the only criteria that matter. Morality matters, too. And on Sunday... Read More
"All life is interrelated." -- Martin Luther King Jr. "Imagine all the people, sharing all the world." -- John Lennon ... Read More
"All life is interrelated." -- Martin Luther King Jr. "Imagine all the people, sharing all the world." -- John Lennon A few words about "us" and "them." It is, of course, the baseline division of human existence, probably dating... Read More
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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million... Read More
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday designated two forever chemicals that have been used in cookware, carpets and firefighting... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday designated two forever chemicals that have been used in cookware, carpets and firefighting foams as hazardous substances, an action intended to ensure quicker cleanup of the toxic compounds and require industries and others... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will go before voters Tuesday in Pennsylvania’s presidential primaries, a prelude to the... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will go before voters Tuesday in Pennsylvania’s presidential primaries, a prelude to the November general election, when the commonwealth is expected to once again play a critical role in the race for the... Read More
NEW YORK — Jury selection at former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in a New York court ended Thursday... Read More
NEW YORK — Jury selection at former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in a New York court ended Thursday with only a few alternates needed to pass judgment on the first former president to face criminal proceedings. By the... Read More
ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday issued a food safety alert regarding Infinite Herbs organic... Read More
ATLANTA — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday issued a food safety alert regarding Infinite Herbs organic basil. As of the alert, 12 Salmonella cases in seven states have been reported. There are no reported deaths. The... Read More
Microschool founders face major problems. One of the biggest: local governments. Overly burdensome regulations dictate where these schools can be... Read More
Microschool founders face major problems. One of the biggest: local governments. Overly burdensome regulations dictate where these schools can be located and how they must be built. But Utah just passed a law, a first of its kind in the nation,... Read More
