Prize-winning columnist William Raspberry dies at 76

Gerd, who had prostate cancer, died Tuesday at home in Washington, DC, his wife, Sondra, told the Post.

William Raspberry, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Washington Post and one of the most widely read black journalists of his generation, has died. He was 76 years.

Gerd, who grew up in segregated Mississippi, wrote an opinion column for the post for nearly 40 years, and over 200 newspapers published his syndicated column. He worked at The Times 1968-1988. He retired in 2005.

He won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1994, becoming the second black columnist for the honor. Her winning columns addressed issues such as urban violence, the legacy of civil rights leader and female genital mutilation in Africa.

Gerd started the Post in 1962 as a teletype operator and began working as a reporter in a few months. In 1965, he conducted the Watts riots, and a year later began writing a column on local issues.

Currently, the only nationally syndicated columnist in the leading black media was Carl Rowan. Raspberry column moved to place editorial page in 1970.

"Bill Raspberry inspired a new generation of African columnists and commentators who have followed his path, including me," said Clarence Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

Although he considered himself a Raspberry liberal, moderate, has taken nuanced positions on issues like civil rights and arms control, causing criticism from the right and left. He said he was particularly interested in the problems of ordinary people.

Gerd taught journalism for over 10 years at Duke University.

The son of two teachers, raspberries was born October 12, 1935, the city northeast of Okolona Mississippi. He attended the University of Central Indiana, now the University of Indianapolis, and joined the post after a stint as a public information officer with the army.