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
Gina Sosa is not impressed by attempted rape. "What boy hasn't done this in high school?" she asks. "Please, I ... Read More
Gina Sosa is not impressed by attempted rape. "What boy hasn't done this in high school?" she asks. "Please, I would like to know." Since she asked so nicely, I went on Twitter... Read More
"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged." Jesus preaches that in the book of Luke. But then, Jesus never ... Read More
"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged." Jesus preaches that in the book of Luke. But then, Jesus never had Twitter. Or, for that matter, Instagram or Facebook. He never had, in other words, one of the social media platforms on which millions of us ... Read More
Ari Fleischer wants to know if we're being fair. "How much in society should any of us be held liable... Read More
Ari Fleischer wants to know if we're being fair. "How much in society should any of us be held liable today when we've lived a good life, an upstanding life by all accounts, and then something that maybe is an arguable issue, took place in high... Read More
"Where have you gone, Bob Woodward? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you." I asked that question in January, ... Read More
"Where have you gone, Bob Woodward? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you." I asked that question in January, repurposing a Paul Simon lyric to implore the dean of American political reporters to help us make sense of the mess that is the Trump White ... Read More
When the history of this era is written, when future generations wonder how a mostly educated and largely literate nation ... Read More
When the history of this era is written, when future generations wonder how a mostly educated and largely literate nation became mired in "truthiness," when they ask how we became so mentally muddled that we lost the ability to identify facts and the capacity to care, ... Read More
Colin Kaepernick is staring at you. It's a black-and-white image, a portrait taken from a distance that feels painfully close, ... Read More
Colin Kaepernick is staring at you. It's a black-and-white image, a portrait taken from a distance that feels painfully close, even intimate. Read More
For a man who places such a premium on loyalty, Donald Trump inspires remarkably little. Bad enough his administration is... Read More
For a man who places such a premium on loyalty, Donald Trump inspires remarkably little. Bad enough his administration is a sieve, embarrassing accounts of bungled phone calls with foreign leaders and cheeseburger-fueled rants with cronies regularly showing up in the news. Bad enough top aides... Read More
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NEW YORK — The full contingent of jurors and alternates needed for the hush money criminal trial of former President... Read More
NEW YORK — The full contingent of jurors and alternates needed for the hush money criminal trial of former President Donald Trump was reached Friday in a New York courtroom. The jury selection procedure ended around 1:30 p.m., about the... Read More
WASHINGTON — The press face many challenges, ranging from violence and treachery perpetrated against reporters to public figures diminishing the... Read More
WASHINGTON — The press face many challenges, ranging from violence and treachery perpetrated against reporters to public figures diminishing the value of the work, though the most pernicious of all the threats besieging the profession may well be social media,... Read More
WASHINGTON — The House handily advanced legislation on Friday that would send military and other aid to Ukraine, Israel, Gaza... Read More
WASHINGTON — The House handily advanced legislation on Friday that would send military and other aid to Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and the Indo-Pacific, despite rumblings among some Republicans that such a move would spell curtains for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.... Read More
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
