William James Raspberry | |
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| Born | October 12, 1935 (1935-10-12) Okolona, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | July 17, 2012(2012-07-17) (aged 76)[1] Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Rock Creek Cemetery Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Education | Indiana Central College,B.S. 1958 (History) |
| Notable awards |
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| Spouse | Sondra Patricia Raspberry (née Dodson) (m. 1966–2012) |
| Children |
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| Relatives | James Lee Raspberry, teacher (father) Willie Mae Tucker Raspberry, teacher (b. ~1906) (mother) |
William Raspberry (October 12, 1935 – July 17, 2012) was an American syndicatedpublic affairs columnist. He was also the Knight Professor of the Practice of Communications and Journalism at theSanford Institute of Public Policy atDuke University. AnAfrican American, he frequently wrote on racial issues.
In 1999, Raspberry received theElijah Parish Lovejoy Award as well as an honoraryDoctor of Laws degree fromColby College.
After earning a B.S. in history at theUniversity of Indianapolis in 1958, Raspberry continued to work at the local weeklyIndianapolis Recorder where he had begun in 1956, rising to associate managing editor. He wasdrafted and served as aU.S. Army public information officer from 1960 to 1962. TheWashington Post hired him as ateletypist in 1962.[2] Raspberry quickly rose in the ranks of the paper, becoming a columnist in 1966. Raspberry was a finalist for thePulitzer Prize in 1982, and won thePulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1994.
Raspberry supportedgay rights, writing at least one column condemninggay-bashing.[3][4][5] He argued against certain torts and complaints from the disabled.[6]Ragged Edge, a disabled-rights publication, published complaints from letters to the editor that thePost did not print.[5]
Raspberry retired in December 2005.[7] He provided theWashington Post a guest column on November 11, 2008, commenting on the election ofBarack Obama as president of the United States.[8]
As of 2008, he was president of "Baby Steps", a parent training and empowerment program based inOkolona, Mississippi.[8] Raspberry was an alumnus ofOkolona College.[9]
He is the author ofLooking Backward at Us, a collection of his columns from the 1980s.
Raspberry died ofprostate cancer on July 17, 2012,[2] aged 76. He was buried atRock Creek Cemetery.[citation needed]
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