Amy L. Alexander (born May 4, 1963) is an American

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. Her work has appeared in ''

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 ...

'',

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, ''

The Root "The Root" is a song by American recording artist D'Angelo. It is the eighth track on his second studio album, '' Voodoo'', which was released on January 25, 2000, by Virgin Records. "The Root" was recorded and produced by D'Angelo at New York's ...

'', and ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

''. She is the author of four nonfiction books.

Life and education

Alexander was born in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. She attended

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

, where she received a B.A. in Magazine Journalism.

Journalism career

Alexander began her career in 1988 as a campus correspondent for the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the He ...

'', resulting in a full-time staff position there in 1989. After the ''Examiner'', Alexander wrote for the ''

Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a three-times a week newspaper serving Fresno, California, and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's central San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's ...

'', where she helped cover the

1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, United States, during April and May 1992. Unrest began in South Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after ...

. Alexander next wrote for the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' for almost four years, covering ethnic groups in South Florida. Alexander later wrote for ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', and ''The Washington Post''. She was also a media columnist at Africana.com, which later changed to

AOL AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. The service traces its history to an online ...

BlackVoices.com. Alexander has been a commentator on NPR, as well as an associate producer for NPR's ''

Tell Me More ''Tell Me More'' is a National Public Radio (NPR) interview show that was hosted by journalist Michel Martin. ''Tell Me More'' was first introduced online in December 2006 through an "open piloting" program called "Rough Cuts". Martin and the ...

'', with

Michel Martin Michel McQueen Martin is an American journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio and WNET. After ten years in print journalism, Martin has become best known for her radio and television news broadcasting on national topics. Background ...

. Awards, Honors: In May 2012, Alexander was name
Alumna of the Year
by the Journalism Department at San Francisco State University. In 2008, Alexander was The Alfred Knobler Journalism Fellow

The Nation Institute Type Media Center (formerly The Nation Institute) is a nonprofit media organization that was previously associated with ''The Nation'' magazine. It sponsors fellows, hosts forums, publishes books and investigative reporting, and awards several ann ...

and wrote articles and columns for ''

''. In 2001, she received the Survivor Award fro
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
As of August 2013, Alexander was publisher o

Bibliography

*''The Farrakhan Factor: African-American Writers on Leadership, Nationhood, and Minister Louis Farrakhan'' (

Grove Press Grove Press is an American publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it into an alternative book press in the United S ...

, 1998) *''Lay My Burden Down: Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis Among African-Americans'', with

Alvin F. Poussaint Alvin Francis Poussaint (May 15, 1934 – February 24, 2025) was an American psychiatrist known for his research on the effects of racism in the black community. He was a noted author, public speaker, and television consultant, and dean of stude ...

(

Beacon Press Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as Jame ...

, 2000) *''Fifty Black Women Who Changed America'' (

Kensington Books Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New Yorkbased publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011)Grimes, William''New York Times'' (MARCH 7, 2011). and Roberta Bender Grossman (1946–1992). Kensington is known as "Am ...

, 2003) *''Uncovering Race: A Black Journalist's Story of Reporting and Reinvention'' (Beacon Press, 2011)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Amy L. 1963 births Living people San Francisco State University alumni Writers from San Francisco San Francisco Examiner people Miami Herald people The Nation (U.S. magazine) people 20th-century American women journalists 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists