LEONARD PITTS JR.  is an American commentator, journalist, novelist and UCC member. He won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2004. He is the author of the novel Before I Forget, a story of a faded soul singer whose early-onset Alzheimer’s compels him to reconnect with his father and son. His column runs every Sunday and Wednesday in the Miami Herald. Forward From This Moment, a collection of his columns, was released in 2009. On Sept. 11, 2001, he wrote a column on the terrorist attacks that received a huge response from readers who deluged him with more than 26,000 e-mails. It was posted on the Internet, chain-letter style.