Leonard Pitts Jr.

Noted Miami Herald columnist to be in Philadelphia

Columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. speaks frankly about race, about raising children, and about the soul of America, good and bad. Local journalists and the public are invited to hear him speak on Monday, Feb. 11, 2002, at Friends Select School, 17th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia. A reception will be held at 6:30 p.m., followed by Pitts' speech at 7 p.m.

The event is sponsored by the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, and the Philadelphia chapters of the Asian American Journalists Association and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. It is part of a recruitment drive by these organizations.

Pitts is based out of the Miami Herald. He is a former writer for Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" radio program, and became a music writer at the Miami Herald in 1991. He became a columnist in 1994 and has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

He has been widely acclaimed for his Sept. 12 column on the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. Pitts, whose column is syndicated by Tribune Media Services, said that he received 30,000 e-mails in response to the column.

Pitts is the author of "Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood," published in 1999. His columns run in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

For more information about this event, contact Sherry Howard at 215-854-4696. Please RSVP at philajournalists@yahoo.com.