Pulitzer winner Leonard Pitts, Jr. to give Nafziger Lecture

Syndicated Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr., winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, will deliver the Ralph O. and Monona H. Nafziger Lecture at UW–Madison on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

The free, public lecture, titled “Where Do We Go From Here? Race, Reconciliation and Other Tattered Dreams,” will be given at 4 p.m. at the Pyle Center, 802 Langdon St. The lecture closely follows Pitts’ moving reports from the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

James L. Baughman, professor and director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, says Pitts’ insight and style make him an ideal choice.

“Reading Leonard Pitts’ commentaries has become a morning ritual for many Americans – and many in Wisconsin,” says Baughman. “Tough-mined without ever losing his sense of humor or his humanity, Pitts has become one of the nation’s very best newspaper columnists.”

Pulitzer judges recognized this in citing Pitts for his “fresh, vibrant columns that spoke with both passion and compassion, to ordinary people on often divisive issues.”

Evidence of that was Pitts’ first post-9/11 column, “We’ll Go Forward From This Moment,” a defiant open letter to the terrorists that generated 30,000 emails, has been set to music, read on the floor of Congress and reprinted in poster form.

Pitts joined the Miami Herald in 1991 as its pop music critic. Since 1994, he has written a syndicated column that focuses on pop culture, social issues and family life. His 1999 book, “Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood,” examines the difficulties faced by African American men as they become fathers.

In addition, he is a five-time winner of the National Headliner Award. The Society of Professional Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists and the Simon Wiesenthal Center have also honored Pitts. In 2002, the National Association of Newspaper Columnists named him columnist of the year.

The Nafziger Lecture, named for a longtime director of the school and his wife, is made possible through the support of alumni, friends and the Nafziger family.