Attiah Declines Washington Post Return After Arbitration Win

Karen Attiah has accepted a settlement with The Washington Post and will not return, despite winning an arbitration ruling that found the newspaper lacked sufficient cause to fire her and had violated its labor agreement. The Post fired the longtime opinion writer after social media posts responding to the 2025 killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, citing misconduct and violations of its policies. Attiah said she did not believe a return would provide the freedom, protection and institutional support needed to do her work; the settlement includes back pay, while other terms have not been disclosed. Attiah described her arbitration victory as significant for unions, free speech and Black journalists, and noted that she had been the opinion section’s last full-time Black columnist.