Columnist Analysis: Leonard Pitts

The first column I read by Pitts was "Some blacks forgot sting of discrimination." The article was written Nov. 12, 2008, a week after California voters passed an initiative denying recognition to same-sex marriages. I genuinely enjoyed and agreed with almost every point he made. He compared the struggles of African-Americans to those of homosexuals, and he appealed to African-Americans to stop being so hypocritical. He did not understand how African-Americans could disregard the plight of homosexuals even if there were distinct differences between the two.

For the second column I read, I tried to select a different topic to get a more thorough view of his writing style. I read "'Real' American has been here all along." The column was about the nation's outcry against Barack Obama  when he ran for president in 2008. Several "reasons" the public gave as to why Obama shouldn't have been elected were:

- He is Muslim, not Christian.

- He mocks the Bible.

- He is not an American citizen.

- He is in fact the anti-Christ.

Despite the fact that all of the claims were proven incredibly false, they "fester instead." Pitts addressed the notion of the perfect cookie-cutter home and family and America's fear that Obama would simply destroy all of this. Pitts spoke out against the conservative bloggers and such that had spread rumors about Obama simply based on his appearance and name. He points out the disregard of the state in which he was born, the fact that all United States citizens are derived from an immigrant and the fact that race is inherited and religion is not.

My favorite column he wrote was actually about Appalachia, West Virginia specifically, and how 20% of West Virginia voters said race was a major factor in how they voted in the 2008 presidential election. He said he was not angry with Appalachia, but he pitied them. His depiction of West Virginia in this particular article can be construed as insulting, but it's mostly accurate.

Pitts is clearly liberal in his views. There is a consistent theme in his columns in which he defends the rights of all minorities. Pitts, himself, is an African-American man, and I feel like that in some way affects his strong social views. Pitts tackles issues concerning equality, race and politics.