Leon Dash (born , in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. At the 2020 census, New Bedford had a population of 101,079, making it the state's ninth-l ...

) is a

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...

. A former

reporter 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 ...

for 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 ...

'', he is the author of ''Rosa Lee: A Mother and Her Family in Urban America'', which grew out of the eight-part ''Washington Post'' series for which he won the

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 ...

Biography

Dash grew up in

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 ...

and later attended

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. He spent 1969-1970 as a

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. He joined the ''Washington Post'' in 1965, working as a member of the special projects unit, as part of the investigative desk, and as the

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

Bureau Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...

Chief. ''Rosa Lee,'' which started as an eight-part series for the Washington Post in September 1994, is the story of one woman and her family's struggle to escape the urban underclass poverty in the projects of Washington, D.C., later became the basis for his award-winning book, Rosa Lee: A Mother and Her Family in Urban America. The eight-part series won a

Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism The Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting has been presented since 1998, for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear p ...

for the story, the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. The book was later picked as one of the best 100 pieces in 20th-century American Journalism by New York University's journalism department. While living in the inner city of Washington, D.C., for a year, Dash researched

teenage pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female under the age of 20. Worldwide, pregnancy complications are the leading cause of death for women and girls 15 to 19 years old. The definition of teenage pregnancy i ...

in black youths for his book, ''When Children Want Children: The Urban Crisis of Teenage Childbearing." The book features conversations with teens and contains stories that contradict the common belief that inadequate birth control and lack of sex education classes are the causes of teenage pregnancy. He received an Emmy Award in 1996 from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for a documentary series in the public affairs category of complex issues. In 1998, Dash joined the University of Illinois as a professor of Journalism. In 2000, he was named the Swanlund Chair (the highest endowed title bestowed upon faculty at the University of Illinois) Professor of Journalism, Law, and Afro-American Studies. Three years later, he was made a permanent faculty member in the University's Center for Advanced Study. On August 9, 2019, Dash was inducted into the NABJ's Hall of Fame for the second time with his colleagues, the six other members of The Washington Post's Metro Seven. The Metro Seven comprised seven Washington Post black reporters who filed a discrimination complaint against The Post with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) on March 23, 1972, the first action against a major metropolitan American newspaper. On May 14, 2025, Leon was recognized by his colleagues, friends, and family for his career achievements by receiving a well-deserved retirement party. HAPPY RETIREMENT, LEON!!!

References

External links

Leon Dash page in The New New Journalism

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dash, Leon 1944 births Living people American male journalists Howard University alumni Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism winners The Washington Post people American expatriates in Kenya