Cynthia Tucker facts for kids

Cynthia Tucker, born on March 13, 1955, is an American journalist. She writes a weekly column that is shared with many newspapers across the country. In 2007, she won a special award called the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. She won this award for her writing at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper. She also helped lead the opinion section of that newspaper.

Growing Up in Alabama

Cynthia Tucker was born in Monroeville, Alabama, on March 13, 1955. Her mother was a high school English teacher, and her father was a middle-school principal.

When Cynthia was young, the United States had racial segregation. This meant that schools and other places were separated based on race. She did not go to a school with students of all races until she was 16 years old.

Cynthia went to Auburn University. There, she studied English and journalism. She also wrote for the student newspaper, The Auburn Plainsman.

Her Journey in Journalism

After finishing college in 1976, Cynthia started working as a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC). In 1980, she moved to work for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Cynthia had a dream to be a foreign correspondent in Africa. This means a reporter who writes about news from other countries. Even though her newspaper thought she was too new, she decided to travel around Africa on her own. She wrote articles from there for six months.

Then, she came back to Atlanta and started working for the AJC again. This time, she became a columnist. A columnist writes opinion pieces for the newspaper.

Winning the Pulitzer Prize

In 1990, Cynthia became the editorial page editor for the AJC. This meant she was in charge of the newspaper's opinion section. She helped decide what important topics the newspaper would write about.

Cynthia wrote two columns every week for the AJC. Her columns were shared with more than 40 newspapers across the United States. Her writing was so good that she was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 2004 and 2006. Finally, she won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2007. This is one of the highest awards a journalist can receive.

In 2006, the National Association of Black Journalists named Cynthia Tucker their Journalist of the Year.

Teaching and Writing Today

In 2009, Cynthia moved to Washington, D.C.. She continued to write about politics for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She also writes for The 74, a news website that focuses on education in the U.S.

In 2014, Cynthia Tucker moved to Mobile, Alabama. Today, she teaches classes at the University of South Alabama. She teaches about communication and political science.

About Her Family Life

In 2008, Cynthia Tucker adopted a baby girl. Her daughter is her only child.