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Charles Blow      

Visual Op-Ed Columnist for The New York Times; CNN Contributor & NY Times Best-Selling Author of "Fire Shut Up in My Bones"

Charles M. Blow is an Op-Ed columnist at The New York Times, where his column appears on Mondays and Thursdays. Blow’s columns tackle hot-button issues such as social justice, racial equality, presidential politics, police violence, gun control, and the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Blow is also a CNN commentator and was a Presidential Visiting Professor at Yale, where he taught a seminar on media and politics.

Blow is the author of the critically acclaimed New York Times best-selling memoir, "Fire Shut Up in My Bones". The book won a Lambda Literary Award and the Sperber Prize and made multiple prominent lists of best books published in 2014. People Magazine called it “searing and unforgettable.” His second book, "The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto", was named a "most anticipated book" by the San Francisco Chronicle, O, the Oprah Magazine, Time Out, Town and Country, and Lithub. Blow joined The New York Times in 1994 as a graphics editor and quickly became the paper’s graphics director, a position he held for nine years.

In that role, he led The Times to a best of show award from the Society for News Design for The Times’ information graphics coverage of 9/11, the first time the award had been given for graphics coverage. He also led the paper to its first two best of show awards from the Malofiej Infographics World Summit for work that included coverage of the Iraq war. He then went on to become the paper’s design director for news before leaving in 2006 to become the art director of National Geographic Magazine. Before coming to The Times, Blow had worked at The Detroit News.

He graduated magna cum laude from Grambling State University in Louisiana, where he received a B.A. in mass communications, and he holds an honorary doctorate from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. He lives in Brooklyn and has three children.

Speech Topics


Today's Social and Political Issues

As a New York Times columnist known for his fearless brand of political and social commentary, Charles Blow has become a familiar face on TV and a frequent target for conservative critics. His column typically features charts, but it's mainly his words, written and spoken, that continue to spark conversation and debate about social and political issues of the day. As a speaker, Blow fearlessly tackles contentious issues, such as Dating, Childhood Obesity, Life in Large Cities, Acceptance of Gays in Society, and President Obama. Recently Blow has spoken on topics such as: Income Inequality, Xenophobia, Teen Pregnancy, Education and the relationship between journalism and justice as evident by the Trayvon Martin shooting.

News


Interview: Charles Blow, Author Of ' Shut Up In My Bones' : NPR
Charles Blow says he was 7 years old when he was sexually abused by a cousin . His new memoir, Fire Shut Up In My Bones, is about what he says happened, ...
Up From Pain - NYTimes.com
Charles Blow, 2014 Credit Chad Batka for The New York Times. That night, I forced myself to come to terms with some things. Chester had done damage, but he ...
Charles M. Blow Opens Up About Sexuality In Powerful Op-Ed
Charles M. Blow Opens Up About Sexuality In Powerful Op-Ed. New York Times | By Charles M. Blow. Posted: 09/21/2014 11:12 am EDT Updated: 09/22/2014 ...
Charles Blow on Masculinity, Trayvon Martin, and Reliving Childhood
Charles Blow is known to readers of the New York Times as a guy who distills complex news events into tidy concepts and charts. But his unabashedly honest ...
NYT Columnist Charles Blow on Being Labeled Bisexual | Advocate ...
In his upcoming memoir Fire Shut Up in My Bones, New York Times columnist Charles Blow shares that he is attracted to both men and women but doesn't want  ...

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