William Raspberry, Won Pulitzer Prize as Washington Post Columnist
William Raspberry — a Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist for The Washington Post who for 39 years in more than 200 newspapers brought a moderate voice to social issues, including race relations, sometimes to the ire of civil rights leaders — died Tuesday at his home in Washington.
His wife, Sondra, who confirmed the death, said Mr. Raspberry, 76, had prostate cancer, The Post reported.
Mr. Raspberry wrote his column for The Post from 1966 to 2005. Initially under the title ”Potomac Watch,” and later under his own name, it steered clear of Washington’s power brokers to focus on street violence, drug abuse, criminal justice, poverty, parenting, education, and civil rights, often quoting ordinary people he interviewed and asserting his belief in individual responsibility in dealing with social issues.
”Words matter,” he wrote in a 1993 column about the raw lyrics of rap music. ”And because I know words matter, I wish my children, and kids younger than my children, would get back to innocent, hopeful lyrics. I wish their music was more about love and less graphically about intercourse. I wish their songs could be less angry and ‘victimized’ and more about building a better world.”