Lucius Gantt
Even though Lucius Gantt has been seen on TV, read in print and heard on radio, he is worthy of space on my site. I met Lucius in my early stages of journalism. He was a great source of wisdom and encouragement for me back then; and still is today.
Lucius is a bold media professional with a powerful voice. His voice can be heard loudest in The Gantt Report. Heralded as America’s most controversial Black Newspaper column for over 25 years, he covers issues that are relevant to African Americans. He says that he wants to be “a voice for the voiceless.” Therefore, he goes into different neighborhoods; speaks to people about their concerns; and writes about them in The Gantt Report.
Topics in his column are not only controversial; they are also thought-provoking and overly-enlightening. He caused quite a stir with the following question: If Caucasians could style and cut Black hair, would Black people stop going to Black hair salons and barber shops? The reactions and responses to that inquiry were mild compared to the allegations of him “talking about” President Barack Obama in the most recent election. He clarified that he was criticizing the way that the President’s team was handling Black voters and Black media during the campaign. According to Lucius, more African Americans contributed to President Obama’s campaign than any other president, but “White people got all of the money.” He says that “everybody got mad about it [what he said], but they could not say that I was wrong.”
Excerpt taken from The Pine Hills News:
“More Black people have contributed money to the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign than to any presidential effort in history. Black people just want to get some of that money back in the form of patronizing Black community businesses, advertising with Black-owned media outlets and the hiring and utilization of Black political professionals. Barack Obama knows that better than David Axelrod and the other whites he has desired to trust his campaign with.”
Read the entire story at http://thepinehillsnews.com/wp/2008/08/02/obamas-white-media-advisors-causing-black-problems/
As you can see, Lucius does not mind speaking what’s really on his mind, which is why he is regarded as controversial. Some might even consider him a bit radical. Regardless of what people say or think about him, he proudly reports that “no one has ever accused him of writing anything that was not true” in his entire career. Thus, he is both loved and hated for his courage to challenge the status quo while holding tight to honesty in his writings.
His integrity has earned him several honors to date, but only two will be mentioned. First, quotes from The Gantt Report currently share display space with the works of President George Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the McCormick Freedom Museum in Chicago. He was also called upon to handle the Associated Press when George Bush and Al Gore were fighting over votes in Florida during the 2002 election. Although there were many other professionals who could have addressed the situation, his reputation got him the job.
Lucius Gantt’s integrity and courage not only make him a controversial columnist but a media and political powerhouse. He is both adored and abhorred by his audience. To find out why he is considered controversial, and maybe even radical, read his two published books: I Talked about the Beast and Beast Too: Dead Man Writing. Beast Too was just released in January 2009, and can be found at Barnes & Nobles, Borders, Books-A-Million, EBay and Amazon.
marciewrites.wordpress.com 
Conversations