Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit

Pulitzer-Prize winning columnist to present Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Public Affairs Lecture

Tuesday, February 21, 2012, By News Staff
Share
speakers

Syracuse University’s 29th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Public Affairs Lecture will feature syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr., of The Miami Herald, who won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Pitts will present “The Beloved Community” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 29, in Gifford Auditorium. A book signing will take place immediately following the lecture.

pittsSponsored by the Department of African American Studies (AAS) in The College of Arts and Sciences with additional funding from the Office of the Chancellor, the lecture is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available in the Irving garage ($4). People with disabilities may park in the Q1 lot.

Additionally, AAS will host an open classroom conversation with Pitts, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 1, in Sims Hall, Room 219. The session is free and open to the public.

The 2004 Pulitzer jury cited Pitts for “fresh, vibrant columns that spoke, with both passion and compassion, to ordinary people on often divisive issues.” The evening of Sept. 11, 2001, Pitts penned one of his most enduring columns, “We’ll go forward from this moment” (published on Sept. 12, 2001)—700 words that reverberated across the country. Readers deluged him with more than 26,000 emails and the column went viral across the Internet.

In 2008, Pitt wrote, “I Am a Man,” a series of columns commemorating the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. He is the author of “Before I Forget” (Agate Bolden, 2009), a novel depicting the lives of three generations of black men, and “Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood” (Agate Bolden, 2006), an unflinching investigation, both personal and journalistic, of black fatherhood in America.

In addition to the Pulitzer, Pitts received the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ top award for his commentary in 2001 and, in 2000, the Society of Professional Journalists presented him with its Fellow of the Society award, one of the organization’s highest honors. Pitts also won awards from the National Association of Black Journalists, the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, among others. He is a three-time recipient of the National Headliners Award.

Pitts, 54, entered the University of Southern California at the age of 15 under a special honors program. He graduated summa cum laude four years later with a degree in English. He was a former editor of Soul, a pioneering national black entertainment magazine. His work has also appeared in The Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Oui, Musician, Billboard, Essence, TV Guide, Parenting and Reader’s Digest. He has written for all-news radio stations KFWB and KNX in Los Angeles; was the co-creator and editor of Radioscope, a black entertainment radio newsmagazine; and wrote for Casey Kasem’s Top 40.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Most Read
  • Related
  • YouTube Fails In Its Fight Against Disinformation
    Thursday, December 5, 2019, By Daryl Lovell
  • Community Comes Together for Peace Vigil
    Thursday, December 5, 2019, By News Staff
  • Statement from Syracuse University Regarding Closure of Crouse-Hinds Hall on Thursday, Dec. 5
    Thursday, December 5, 2019, By News Staff
  • 2020 SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows Request for Proposals Now Open
    Thursday, December 5, 2019, By Kerrie Marshall
  • From ‘Justice for Jenny’ to Justice for All: Burton Blatt Institute Redefines ‘Supported Decision Making’
    Thursday, December 5, 2019, By News Staff
  • SU in the News: Tuesday, July 3
    Tuesday, July 3, 2012, By News Staff
  • Syracuse University Permanently Expels Theta Tau Chapter
    Saturday, April 21, 2018, By News Staff
  • Seven Syracuse Alumni Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Lists
    Thursday, January 5, 2017, By John Boccacino
  • Syracuse University Announces $118 Million Investment to Create a New Stadium Experience
    Monday, May 14, 2018, By News Staff
  • 100 Years after WWI: The Lasting Impacts of the Great War
    Monday, July 28, 2014, By Kathleen Haley
  • ‘Does Jesus Really Love Me?’ Author Jeff Chu to Visit Newhouse Oct. 15
    Monday, October 7, 2013, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • Brand consultant Paul Wylde to speak at The Warehouse May 4
    Monday, May 2, 2011, By Erica Blust
  • Source Marketing managing partner and advertising alumnus Rich Feldman ’81 to visit the Newhouse School Oct. 3
    Monday, September 17, 2012, By Wendy S. Loughlin
  • Alford to Moderate Civil Rights Panel
    Tuesday, March 17, 2015, By News Staff
  • Recorded webcasts now available of ‘Common Ground for Peace’ panels
    Wednesday, October 10, 2012, By Kevin Morrow

More In Uncategorized

YouTube Fails In Its Fight Against Disinformation

Jennifer Grygiel, assistant professor of communications in the Newhouse School, was quoted in the Pro Publica article “YouTube Promised to Label State-Sponsored Videos But Doesn’t Always Do So.”

Syracuse Views Fall 2019

We want to know how you experience Syracuse University. It could be an amazing night view of campus, a cool class project or a beautiful day on the Einhorn Family Walk. Take a photo and share it with us. We…

Eric Gillin ’99: ‘You Make Your Own Breaks’

Update: On Oct. 24, Gillin was named chief business officer of Condé Nast’s Culture division, which includes The New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, Them, Pitchfork and Teen Vogue.  Last year, publisher Condé Nast announced the restructuring of its sales side, reorganizing all…

New York State Bar to Admit Syracuse’s First Black Law Graduate

Paula Johnson, Professor in the College of Law and Co-Director of the Cold Case Justice Initiative, wrote a commentary called “NYS Bar to admit Syracuse’s first black law graduate, correcting century-old injustice.” The Syracuse.com article highlights the racial injustice faced…

The City of Syracuse: Stagnant or Expanding?

Lawrence C. Davis, undergraduate chair and associate professor of architecture at the Syracuse University School of Architecture, authored an opinion piece for the Post-Standard “Cities are ‘stretching’ into their surroundings: Can Syracuse keep up?” In the article, Davis states that,…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2019 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.