Tomas Alexander Asuncion Tizon (October 30, 1959 – March 23, 2017) was a Filipino-American author and

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning journalist. His book ''Big Little Man'', a memoir and cultural history, explores themes related to race, masculinity, and personal identity."Big Little Man: In Search of my Asian Self"
''Publishers Weekly''. Reviewed on March 10, 2014. Accessed May 12, 2014. Tizon taught at the

University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. His final story, titled " My Family's Slave", was published as the cover story of the June 2017 issue of ''

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 ...

'' after his death, sparking significant debate.

Biography

Tizon was born Tomas Alexander Asuncion Tizon in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

on October 30, 1959, the second of five children. He immigrated with his family in 1964, shortly before the first big wave of Asian immigration to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the postwar era. His childhood was marked by financial hardship and frequent long-distance moves. Through twelve grades, he attended eight schools from

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He earned degrees from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

and

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. In 1997, Tizon won the

Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 19th century media magnate *Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) * Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-pro ...

. Towards the end of his life, he wrote a piece in ''

'' about Eudocia Tomas Pulido, a Filipina peasant woman who was his family's slave. Pulido helped to raise Tizon's mother, all of her children and Tizon's daughters without compensation.

Work

As a reporter for ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'', he and two colleagues won the 1997

for a five-part series about fraud and mismanagement in the Federal Indian Housing Program. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Tizon and photographer Alan Berner drove from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

to Ground Zero in

, chronicling their journey with a multi-part series called "Crossing America – Dispatches From a New Nation," which explored the changes brought about by the attacks. In 2002, he and Berner made another trip to Ground Zero, this time taking a southern route, and produced the series, "Crossing America – One Year Later." Tizon was Seattle Bureau Chief for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' from 2003 to 2008. He was a Knight International Journalism Fellow based in Manila in 2009 and 2010.

''Big Little Man''

He expanded upon his journalistic themes—exiles, immigrants, social outcasts, people searching for identity or purpose—in a personal way in his book ''Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self.'' Tizon told his own story as a first-generation immigrant and an Asian male growing up in the United States to examine cultural mythologies related to race and gender, in particular the Western stereotypes of Asian men and women. The book won the 2011 J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize Work-In-Progress Award, sponsored by

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and the

Nieman Foundation The Nieman Foundation for Journalism is the primary journalism institution at Harvard University. History It was founded in February 1938 as the result of a $1.4 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of ' ...

at Harvard.

Death

Tizon was found dead in his home in Eugene, Oregon, on March 23, 2017. He was 57. His death appeared to be the result of natural causes. The last story Tizon wrote was an article for ''

'' titled " My Family's Slave" in which he described how his parents had kept a peasant woman named Eudocia Tomas Pulido as a household

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, even after emigrating to the U.S. from the Philippines. He died the day that ''The Atlantic''s editorial staff decided the article would be featured on the magazine's front cover, but before they could tell him of their decision."Alex Tizon's posthumous ''Atlantic'' cover story is about his family's secret slave"
by Eder Campuzano, at ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

''; published May 16, 2017; retrieved May 16, 2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tizon, Alex 1959 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century Filipino writers 21st-century American journalists 21st-century Filipino writers American male journalists American writers of Filipino descent Filipino emigrants to the United States Los Angeles Times people Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting winners Stanford University alumni University of Oregon alumni University of Oregon faculty Writers from Eugene, Oregon Writers from Manila Journalists from Manila