Happy Birthday to 'New York Times' Op-Ed Columnist Charles M. Blow

Charles M. Blow was born today, August 11, in 1970. He is an American journalist, commentator, and current visual op-ed columnist for The New York Times.

Blow was born and raised in Gibsland, Louisiana. He graduated magna cum laude from Grambling State University, with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He has worked as a graphics director and art director for The New York Times and National Geographic.

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 2014, it appears every Monday and Thursday.

Blow often appears as a commentator on CNN and MSNBC.

On February 22, 2012, Blow referred to 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. 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." Blow later apologized.

In 2014, Blow published the book-length memoir entitled Fire Shut Up In My Bones. In an article from the Huffington Post: 

“One thing thing the gay rights movement taught the world is the importance of being visible,” New York Times Op-Ed columnist Charles Blow said, discussing his riveting and frank new memoir, Fire Put Up in My Bones, in which, among many other things, he reveals that he bisexual.

“And one thing I wanted to do,” he continued, “was just be visible because very often the people who we see, the names we know of people who say they are bisexual, they are already in a relationship, or married, or now they can say, ‘Oh yes, I’m bisexual, although I’m married to whomever I am right now.’ Or people who said that, ’In my 20s I was bisexual and I’m not anymore.’ So people who were kind of transitory in that identity. But I wanted to say that, this is as permanent for me as it gets. I’m not 14, I’m not 24. I’m 44 years old. This is how I felt all my life. It does not feel to me in any way transitory. it does not feel like it’s going to change. And I also wanted to say that there are people who may not fit what we conceive bisexuality to be.”

In August 2016, while appearing on CNN with Donald Trump presidential campaign delegate Bruce Levell, Blow called Donald Trump a "bigot" and said that anyone who supported Trump is "a part of the bigotry itself."

In February 2017, Blow had a heated exchange with political commentator Kayleigh McEnany on CNN's show, CNN Tonight with Don Lemon.



Blow lives in the New York City borough of Brooklyn with his three children. His eldest son attends Yale University and his twins attend Middlebury College and Columbia University.