Pulitzer speaker in May

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David M. Shribman is scheduled to speak at Marblehead High School on May 6 about antisemitism, tolerance and civil discourse in America. (marbleheadcurrent.org) The event is set for 7 p.m. in the Marblehead High School auditorium, and the program is titled “Portrayals of Antisemitism.” Rabbi David Meyer is slated to join Shribman in conversation after his remarks. (itemlive.com) Shribman grew up in nearby Swampscott, and Marblehead Current reported that he will return to the North Shore for the appearance. Marblehead High School serves grades 9 through 12 in Marblehead, Massachusetts. (marbleheadcurrent.org) (mhs.marbleheadschools.org) The speaker’s résumé is part of the draw. McGill University says Shribman won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of Washington and the American political scene and later became executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2003. (mcgill.ca) A separate biography from Harvard’s Institute of Politics says he led the Post-Gazette’s coverage of the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue attack in Pittsburgh, work that helped the paper win the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting. (iop.pitt.edu) The Marblehead event lands as antisemitic incidents remain elevated nationally. The Anti-Defamation League counted 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the United States in 2024, up 5% from 2023 and up 344% over the past five years. (adl.org) Massachusetts ranked fifth among states in that 2024 audit, with 438 incidents, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s state-by-state data cited by Boston.com and other local outlets. (boston.com) (adl.org) The timing also places the talk in Jewish American Heritage Month, which is observed each May in the United States. Organizers have framed the evening around how antisemitism is portrayed and discussed in public life. (jewishamericanheritage.org) (itemlive.com) For Marblehead, the event brings a nationally known journalist back to the North Shore for a local school auditorium conversation on a national subject. Barring changes, that conversation is scheduled for Wednesday, May 6. (marbleheadcurrent.org)