Michael Harriot

About

Journalist, poet, novelist and broadcaster who is a senior staff writer at The Root. He is known for his focus on the intersection of race, politics and culture. He won the 2019 National Association of Black Journalists award for digital commentary. In 2022 he published his book, Black Af History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America. He is a popular cultural critic on Twitter, with 500,000 followers on his michaelharriot account. 

Before Fame

He was homeschooled in his earliest years, later graduating from Hartsville High School. In 1995 he received his bachelor's degree in mass communications from Auburn University and later an MC in macroeconomics from Florida State University. He has worked for The Washington Post. In 2008 he published the book, The Situation in South Carolina. 

Trivia

He jokingly calls himself a "board-certified wypipologist." In 2012 he covered the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. He has a podcast called The Black One. He has 50,000 followers on his michaelharriot Instagram account. He posts content related to his work at The Grio, a television network and website with content geared toward black Americans. 

Family Life

He was raised in a black neighborhood, in a black church and a black family. He has said that his mother did everything she could to protect her family from harmful black stereotypes. He has a small, white dog. 

Associated With

In June of 2020 he was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama for violating a curfew order issued during the George Floyd protests. Michael Eric Dyson is quoted as having called him, "one of the funniest men out there taking no prisoners on the subject of white supremacy."