Karen Attiah

Washington, D.C.

Columnist writing on international affairs, culture and human rights issues.

Education: Northwestern University, BA in communication studies, minor in African Studies; Columbia University, master's in international affairs

Karen Attiah is a columnist for The Washington Post and writes a weekly newsletter. She joined The Post in 2014 as a digital producer in the Opinions section. Attiah often writes on issues relating to race, gender and international politics, with a special interest in Africa. Previously, she reported as a freelancer for the Associated Press while based in the Caribbean. Attiah was the winner of the 2019 George Polk Award and was the 2019 Journalist of the Year from the National Association of Black Journalists.
Latest from Karen Attiah

Rap has a misogyny problem. But Kendrick Lamar picked the wrong enemy.

Little rap and hip-hop artistic energy has gone into protecting women and children.

May 15, 2024
Kendrick Lamar, left, on Aug. 27, 2017, in Inglewood, Calif., and Drake, right, in Los Angeles on June 4, 2019. (AP)

Columbia is teaching its students the wrong lessons

Use of force to break up peaceful protests makes the university into a school for oppression.

May 2, 2024
New York City police enter an upper floor of Hamilton Hall on the Columbia University campus on Tuesday. (Craig Ruttle/AP)

The tragedy and promise of #BringBackOurGirls

Was the activism, the hashtag and the global spotlight worth nothing?

April 18, 2024
Demonstrators gather in front of the Nigerian Embassy in D.C. in 2014. The demonstrators were pushing the Nigerian government to find and free 276 girls who were kidnapped from their dormitories at a school in Chibok, Nigeria. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Beyoncé’s new album demands respect — and highlights an American travesty

Why are we still recovering Black roots and recognizing Black breakthroughs?

April 3, 2024
A woman watches roller skaters during a listening party for Beyoncé's new album “Cowboy Carter” in Houston on Friday. (Mark Felix/AFP/Getty Images)

Ghana’s draconian anti-gay bill reflects colonial values

People who engage in public displays of affection with people of the same sex could face more than a decade in prison.

March 14, 2024
An LGBTQ+ rights placard hangs outside the Ghanaian High Commission in London on March 6. (Andy Rain/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

Fact or ‘American Fiction’? 3 columnists on the best picture nominee.

What does it mean to make art, film, music, books and journalism as a Black person in “woke America”? “American Fiction” is explicitly about that question.

March 8, 2024

Black women are the face of America’s ugly Gaza policy

Vice President Harris’s speech was limpness masquerading as strength.

March 5, 2024
Vice President Harris speaks during a campaign event at South Carolina State University on Saturday. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Texas insists on discriminating against Black hair

So much for its achievement in passing the Crown Act.

March 4, 2024
Darryl George, a junior, enters Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, Tex., on Sept. 18.

A new effort to punish South Africa is a terrible look for Democrats

U.S. lawmakers are trying to punish South Africa for its accusations about Israel.

February 22, 2024
A man waves a Palestinian flag outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Wednesday. (Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters)

Black Zionism adds a wrinkle to the politics of the Gaza war

Many of us, liberals especially, see Black churches through an overly nostalgic lens.

February 12, 2024
Demonstrators take part in a rally organized by the South Africa Zionist Federation in Johannesburg, on May 23, 2021. (Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images)