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Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post columnist William Raspberry dies at 76

William Raspberry, a Washington Post columnist who won a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary in 1994, died July 17, 2012 at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 76.

Raspbery was born October 12, 1935 in Okolona, Mississippi. From 1966 until his retirement in 2005, his columns appeared in the Washington Post and more than 200 other newspapers. His book Looking Backward at Us, published in 1991 by the University Press of Mississippi, is a collection of some 50 of Raspberry’s columns, primarily from the 1980s, covering such issues as race, family, education, and criminal justice.

Survivors include Mr. Raspberry’s wife of 45 years, Sondra Dodson Raspberry of Washington; three children, Patricia D. Raspberry and Mark J. Raspberry, both of Washington, and Angela Raspberry Jackson of Detroit; a foster son, Reginald Harrison of Manassas; his 106-year-old mother, Willie Mae Tucker Raspberry of Indianapolis; a sister; and a brother.

Related Links
	“William Raspberry dies at 76: Washington Post columnist wrote about social issues including race, poverty,” by Matt Schudel, The Washington Post (17 July 2012).
	“William Raspberry, Prizewinning Columnist, Dies at 76,” by Dennis Hevesi, The New York Times (17 July 2012).