Adam Serwer (born 1982) is an American journalist and author. He is a staff writer at ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' where his work focuses on politics, race, and justice. He previously worked at

BuzzFeed News ''BuzzFeed News'' was an American news website published by BuzzFeed beginning in 2011. It ceased posting new hard news content in May 2023. It published a number of high-profile scoops, including the Steele dossier, for which it was strong ...

, ''

The American Prospect ''The American Prospect'' is a daily online and bimonthly print American political and public policy magazine dedicated to American modern liberalism and Progressivism in the United States, progressivism. Based in Washington, D.C., ''The America ...

'', and '' Mother Jones''. Serwer has received awards from the

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and professional organization of African Americans, African American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 197 ...

(NABJ), '' The Root'', and the

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, lette ...

''.'' He was named a spring 2019 Shorenstein Center fellow, and received the 2019 Hillman Prize for Opinion & Analysis Journalism.

Life and career

Serwer was raised in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

His father, Daniel Serwer, was in the

Foreign Service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

, which resulted in Serwer spending part of his childhood overseas. His mother, Jacquelyn Serwer, is the chief curator of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture. His father is of

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

descent, and his mother is

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

. Serwer received his bachelor's degree from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

and his master's degree from the

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism sch ...

. Following graduate school, he was a writing fellow at ''

.'' He later worked at '' Mother Jones'',

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Jack and Jill Politics,

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

, and ''

'' as a guest blogger for

Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author, journalist, and activist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political is ...

. He began work at

as the national editor in August 2014. Serwer was hired as a senior editor at ''The Atlantic'' on August 15, 2016. His work there has focused on

white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

, race in America, and the Trump administration. Essays such as "The Nationalist's Delusion", "White Nationalism's Deep American Roots", and "The Cruelty Is the Point" have been cited by other journalists in various outlets. He has also appeared on other media outlets such as ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'', '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', ''In the Thick'', and ''On My Mind'' with

Diane Rehm Diane Rehm (; born Diane Aed; September 21, 1936) is an American journalist and the host of ''Diane Rehm: On My Mind'' podcast, produced at WAMU, which is licensed to American University in Washington, D.C.. She also hosts a monthly book club se ...

to discuss his writing. In his best known essay, "The Cruelty Is the Point", published in 2018, Serwer argued that the Trump administration’s policies were not only cruel, but cruel by design. Serwer received a fellowship from the Shorenstein Center in 2019, for which he researched the historical role of

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

and voting. He received the 2019 Hillman Prize for his work on the rise of Trump,

Trumpism Trumpism, also referred to as the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, is the political movement and ideology behind U.S. president Donald Trump and his political base. It comprises ideologies such as right-wing populism, right-wing ...

and America's history of racism. His first book, ''The Cruelty Is the Point: The Past, Present, and Future of Trump's America'', is a collection of essays that was released June 29, 2021 by One World/

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

. The book was named to the ''

New York Times Best Seller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

'' list. '' Kirkus'' reviewed it as "a strong contribution to conversations about racism, injustice, and violence, all of which continue to plague this country."

Personal life

Serwer is married. He and his wife have one daughter (b. 2019). He practices

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

and lives in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

Works

Books

Essays

* * * * * * *Serwer, Adam (June 9, 2022)
"The One Group Who Could Make a Difference on Gun Control."
''The Atlantic.'' Retrieved September 4, 2022 *Serwer, Adam (July 23, 2022)
"Is Democracy Constitutional?"
''The Atlantic''. Retrieved September 4, 2022.

Accolades

* 2012 – Salute to Excellence Awards, Magazines - Commentary/Essay, "All the President's Frenemies," NABJ *2012 – The Root 100, '' The Root'' *2013 – The Root 100, ''The Root'' *2015 –

Sigma Delta Chi Award The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...

Honoree, Online Column Writing, "Race in America,"

* 2018 – The Root 100, Media, ''The Root'' *2019 – Spring Fellow, Shorenstein Center *2019 – Lipman Fellow, Columbia Journalism School *2019 – Hillman Prize for Opinion & Analysis Journalism, Hillman Foundation * 2019 – Forward 50, ''

The Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

'' (2019) *2020 – Vernon Jarrett Medal,

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically bla ...

References

External links

Columns
at ''

'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Serwer, Adam 1982 births African-American Jews African-American journalists African-American non-fiction writers American male journalists American male non-fiction writers American political journalists Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Jewish American non-fiction writers Journalists from Washington, D.C. Living people Vassar College alumni Jewish American journalists 21st-century African-American people 21st-century American Jews 20th-century African-American people American people of Polish-Jewish descent