Fired columnist won’t return to Washington Post despite arbitration win

Karen Attiah will not return to her job as a Washington Post opinion columnist even after an arbitrator ruled she was unjustly fired for statements following the killing of Charlie Kirk.

Attiah, who worked at the Post for 11 years as an editor and opinion writer, announced Monday she would not return due to a lack of “guaranteed freedom and institutional support” within the Post newsroom. Attiah sued for wrongful termination after she was fired for writing that America “accepts and worships gun violence” and posted a quote from Kirk in which he said a number of prominent Black women didn’t have the “brain processing power” to be taken seriously.

“I have decided not to return to what The Washington Post has become. I have accepted a settlement with the Post and will move forward with my life and career,” Attiah wrote in a post to Substack on Monday. “As excruciating as this battle has been, it was one worth fighting.”

The arbitrator ruled in August that the Post did not have “good and sufficient” cause for Attiah’s termination and that they violated the organization’s collective bargaining agreement with the Post’s union. Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and owner of the Post, said he was shifting the opinion section to cover “free markets and personal liberties.”

“My arbitration win was a monumental victory for unions, for journalists, and for free speech. As the last full-time Black columnist in the Opinions section, I recognized how important the win was for Black journalists, especially those pushed out of newsrooms in recent years,” Attiah wrote.

“I am deeply grateful to everyone who supported me throughout this fight and helped me celebrate the victory. I am also indebted to the readers who have continued to believe in my work and who still believe in the power of journalism,” she added.