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'{{short description|American journalist}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2014}} {{Infobox person |name = Charles M. Blow |image = Charles blow 2014.jpg |caption = Blow in 2014 |birth_name = Charles McRay Blow |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|8|11}} |birth_place = [[Gibsland, Louisiana|Gibsland]], [[Louisiana]], U.S. |death_date = |death_place = |death_cause = |education = [[Grambling State University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) |occupation = [[Journalist]], [[columnist]], [[writer]] |employer = ''[[The New York Times]]''<br>[[Black News Channel]] |spouse = Divorced |children = 3 |website = }} '''Charles McRay Blow''' (born August 11, 1970) is an American [[journalist]], racist<ref>{{Cite news |last=Blow |first=Charles M. |date=2022-07-17 |title=Opinion {{!}} Shed No Tears for Carolyn Bryant Donham |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/17/opinion/carolyn-bryant-donham-memoir.html |access-date=2022-07-19 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ,commentator and [[op-ed]] columnist for ''[[The New York Times]]'' and current political analyst for [[MSNBC]]. ==Early life== Blow was born and raised in [[Gibsland, Louisiana]].<ref name="Historymakers1">{{cite web|title=Charles M. Blow|url=http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/charles-m-blow|website=Media Makers|access-date=24 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.c-span.org/video/?298466-1/qa-charles-blow|title=Q & A: interview transcript Charles M. Blow|last=Lamb|first=Brian|date=March 15, 2011|publisher=[[C-SPAN]]|access-date=May 4, 2013}}</ref> He was educated at [[Gibsland Coleman Complex|Gibsland Coleman High School]] in his hometown, where he founded the school newspaper, and graduated as [[valedictorian]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blackpast.org/african-american-history/charles-blow-1970/|title=Charles Blow (1970-)|work=BlackPast.org|first=K.C.|last=Washington|date=May 16, 2020|accessdate=June 22, 2021}}</ref> Blow graduated ''[[magna cum laude]]'' from [[Grambling State University]], with a [[bachelor's degree]] in [[mass communication]].<ref name="Grambling1">{{cite web|title=Tiger happenings|url=http://www.gram.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Alumni-Newsletter-10-8-14.pdf|website=gram.edu|publisher=Grambling University|access-date=24 November 2016}}</ref> ==Career== As a student, Blow interned at the ''[[Shreveport Times]]'', ''[[News Journal (Ohio)|News Journal]]'', and ''The New York Times'', edited the student newspaper, the ''Gramblinite'', and founded the now-defunct student magazine, ''Razz''. He also served as president of Grambling State's chapter of [[Kappa Alpha Psi]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Charles M. Blow's Biography|url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/charles-m-blow|access-date=2021-02-04|website=The HistoryMakers}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/charles-blow-1970/|title=Charles Blow (1970- )|first=K. C.|last=Washington}}</ref> After graduation, he joined ''[[The Detroit News]]'' as a graphics artist. Blow joined ''The New York Times'' in 1994 as a graphics editor. Eventually, he became the head of the newspaper's graphics department. In 2006, he left to become the [[art director]] of ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/opinion/trump-hurricane-map.html|title=Opinion {{!}} Maps Don't Lie|last=Blow|first=Charles M.|date=September 8, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 9, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Charles M. Blow - The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/by/charles-m-blow|access-date=2021-05-18|website=www.nytimes.com|language=en}}</ref> In April 2008, he began writing a column in ''The New York Times''. His column had originally appeared biweekly on Saturdays. In May 2009, it became a weekly feature and appeared twice, weekly, in December 2012. As of May 2021, it appears every Monday and Thursday.<ref name="Grambling1" /> Blow would appear frequently on [[CNN]] and [[MSNBC]] in this period. On February 22, 2012, Blow referred to [[U.S. Republican Party|Republican]] presidential candidate [[Mitt Romney]]'s "magic underwear", an apparent reference to the [[Temple Garment]], in response to a comment by Romney about two parent households.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Joe|last=Coscarelli|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2012/02/charles-blow-mitt-romney-mormon-underwear-twitter.html|title=Charles Blow Is Sorry for Mentioning Mitt Romney's 'Magic Underwear'|magazine=[[New York Magazine|New York]]|date=February 24, 2012|access-date=September 13, 2016}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitics/no-comment-from-the-times-on-columnists-mormo|title=Times Columnist Apologizes For Mormon Jab [UPDATED]|date=February 23, 2012|website=[[BuzzFeed News]]|publisher=|access-date=September 13, 2016}}</ref> The comment was criticized as insensitive to [[Mormons]]. In response, Romney joked that "I guess we’re finding out for the first time that the media is somewhat biased."<ref name=":0" /> Blow later apologized.<ref name=":0" /> [[File:Hearst Lecture Charles Blow 009 (33695803968).jpg|thumb|left|Blow speaking at the [[University of Texas at Austin]] in 2017]] In 2014, Blow published the book-length [[memoir]] entitled ''Fire Shut Up In My Bones''.<ref>{{cite web |first=Stephen|last=Snyder|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sexualitytoday/201409/charles-blow-pain-sex-abuse-and-bisexuality |title=Charles Blow: "Up From Pain," Sex Abuse, and Bisexuality |magazine=[[Psychology Today]] |date=September 23, 2014|access-date=February 27, 2017}}</ref> In August 2016, while appearing on CNN with Bruce Levell, a delegate for [[Donald Trump]]'s [[Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016|presidential campaign]], Blow called Trump a "bigot" and said that anyone who supported Trump is "a part of the bigotry itself."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/media/2016/08/charles-m-blow-donald-trump-bigot|title="Donald Trump Is a Bigot. There's No Other Way to Get Around It."|last=Oh|first=Inae|date=August 23, 2016|website=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|access-date=September 13, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2016/08/24/youre-supporting-a-bigot-that-makes-you-part-of-the-bigotry-charles-blows-master-class-in-cutting-through-trump-hackery/|title="You're supporting a bigot. That makes you part of the bigotry." Charles Blow's master class in cutting through Trump hackery|last=DeVega|first=Chauncey|website=[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]|date=August 24, 2016| access-date=2016-09-13}}</ref> In response to the [[Central Park birdwatching incident]] Blow wrote an op-ed in which he said, "Specifically, I am enraged by white women weaponizing racial anxiety, using their white femininity to activate systems of white terror against black men. This has long been a power white women realized they had and that they exerted."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/opinion/racism-white-women.html|title=Opinion &#124; How White Women Use Themselves as Instruments of Terror|first=Charles M.|last=Blow|date=May 28, 2020|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> In 2021, Blow published ''The Devil You Know: A Black Manifesto'' in which he advocates people of color taking direct action by moving to states where they can build a political majority.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wnet/firing-line/video/charles-blow-rema4x/ Firing Line - Charles Blow interview], [[PBS.org]], March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2021</ref> In April 2021, Blow began hosting ''Prime with Charles M. Blow'', a primetime show on the [[Black News Channel]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/black-news-channel-preps-primetime-reboot-exclusive-4158505/ |title=Black News Channel Preps Primetime Reboot (Exclusive) |last=Weprin |first=Alex |date=31 March 2021 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref> It ran until March 2022 when the channel shut down all produced programming.<ref>{{cite web |last=Battaglio |first=Stephen |title=Shad Khan's Black News Channel is shutting down |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2022-03-25/black-news-channel-shad-kahn-shutting-down |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=March 25, 2022 |date=March 25, 2022}}</ref> On March 29, 2022, he joined MSNBC as a political analyst.<ref>{{cite web |title=Charles Blow: The Supreme Court is not equipped to police itself |url=https://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/charles-blow-the-supreme-court-is-not-equipped-to-police-itself-136538693657 |website=MSNBC |access-date=March 30, 2022 |date=March 29, 2022}}</ref> In June, 2019, [[Opera Theatre of Saint Louis]] presented the first performance of an opera adaptation of Blow's memoir ''[[Fire Shut Up in My Bones]]'', with music by Grammy Award-winning jazz musician and composer [[Terence Blanchard]]. In September 2021, [https://www.metopera.org/season/2021-22-season/fire-shut-up-in-my-bones/ The Metropolitan Opera] in New York City opened its 2021-2022 season with that work. This was the Met's first performance of an opera by a Black composer.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Anthony|last=Tommasini|title=Review: ‘Fire’ Brings a Black Composer to the Met, Finally|date=September 28, 2021|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/28/arts/music/fire-blanchard-met-opera.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928170002/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/28/arts/music/fire-blanchard-met-opera.html |archive-date=September 28, 2021 }}</ref> ==Personal life== Blow's primary residence is in [[Atlanta, Georgia]] and his secondary residence is in the [[New York City]] borough of [[Brooklyn]] where he raised his children.<ref>{{cite tweet |first=Charles M.|last=Blow |author-link=Charles M. Blow |user=CharlesMBlow |number=1212401285930074112 |date=January 1, 2020 |title=Waited to the new year to share this: I’m moving to Atlanta. I’ll keep my place in Brooklyn and come back often because my kids are in NY and I have some biz here, but ATL will be my primary residence. None of my employment will change. Move also related to my forthcoming book. |language=en |access-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130093723/https://twitter.com/CharlesMBlow/status/1212401285930074112 |archive-date=January 30, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/press-releases/harper-to-publish-charles-m-blows-the-devil-you-know-a-black-power-manifesto|title=HARPER TO PUBLISH CHARLES M. BLOW'S THE DEVIL YOU KNOW: A BLACK POWER MANIFESTO|website=HarperCollins}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.c-span.org/video/?298466-1/qa-charles-blow|title=Q & A: interview transcript Charles M. Blow|last=Lamb|first=Brian|date=March 15, 2011|website=[[C-SPAN]]|access-date=July 18, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Grambling1" /> His eldest son, Tahj, graduated from [[Yale University]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nyti.ms/1CWhUoU|title=At Yale, the Police Detained My Son|date=January 26, 2015|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 26, 2015|first=Charles M.|last=Blow}}</ref> and his twins, Ian and Iman, graduated from [[Middlebury College]] and [[Columbia University]] respectively.<ref>{{cite tweet |first=Charles M.|last=Blow |author-link=Charles M. Blow |user=CharlesMBlow |number=939108541461422080 |date=December 8, 2017 |title=My kids: Tahj = Graduated from Yale. Evolutionary bio major. On his way to medical school. Iman = 3rd year at Columbia. Deans list. Pre-med. National/international fencing star. Ian Ahmad = 3rd year at Middlebury. Studying computer science. GTFOH https://t.co/adbOM59TVs |language=en |access-date=February 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209021436/https://twitter.com/CharlesMBlow/status/939108541461422080 |archive-date=December 9, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.columbia.edu/content/fencing-champion-graduates-degree-biology|title=Fencing Champion Graduates with a Degree in Biology|website=[[Columbia News]]}}</ref> In 2014, Blow [[came out]] publicly as [[bisexual]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurweb.com/2014/09/ny-times-charles-m-blow-writes-on-being-bisexual-in-new-book/|title=NY Times' Charles M. Blow Writes on Being Bisexual in New Book|date=September 3, 2014|work=Eurweb.com}}</ref><ref name="Memoir">{{cite web|url=http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5885408|title=New York Times Columnist Charles Blow On Revealing He's Bisexual In His New Book|date=September 26, 2014|work=[[The Huffington Post]]}}</ref> He is [[divorced]].<ref>{{Cite web|first=Charles M.|last=Blow|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/23/opinion/ronald-greene-video.html|title=White Troopers Policing Black Bodies|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 23, 2021}}</ref> In his autobiography, ''Fire Shut Up In My Bones'', Blow revealed that he was [[child sexual abuse|sexually abused as a child]] by an older cousin.<ref name="Memoir"/> ==See also== * [[LGBT culture in New York City]] * [[List of LGBT people from New York City]] ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==External links== {{Commons category|Charles M. Blow}} {{Wikiquote}} *[http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/charles_m_blow/index.html Blow's columns], ''The New York Times'' *{{C-SPAN|35105}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Blow, Charles M.}} [[Category:1970 births]] [[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]] [[Category:African-American journalists]] [[Category:American art directors]] [[Category:American bloggers]] [[Category:American columnists]] [[Category:American male bloggers]] [[Category:Bisexual men]] [[Category:Bisexual writers]] [[Category:CNN people]] [[Category:Grambling State University alumni]] [[Category:Journalists from New York City]] [[Category:Lambda Literary Award winners]] [[Category:LGBT African Americans]] [[Category:LGBT journalists from the United States]] [[Category:LGBT people from New York (state)]] [[Category:LGBT people from Louisiana]] [[Category:LGBT writers from the United States]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:MSNBC people]] [[Category:Newspaper designers]] [[Category:People from Brooklyn]] [[Category:People from Gibsland, Louisiana]] [[Category:The Detroit News people]] [[Category:The New York Times columnists]]'