Errol T. Louis (born August 24, 1962) is a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

journalist, and television show host. He has unsuccessfully run for office several times.

Early life, education, and early career

Louis was born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

and raised in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

, by his father, Edward J. Louis, a retired New York City police officer, and his mother, Tomi (Hawkins) Louis, a bookkeeper. He received a B.A. in government from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, an M.A. in political science from

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, and a J.D. from

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...

. Louis co-founded the Central Brooklyn Federal Credit Union with Mark Winston Griffith in the spring of 1993. The two were known as "the hip-hop bankers". Before going into journalism, Louis taught urban studies at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

Politics

On September 9, 1997, Louis ran in the Democratic primary for

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

District 35 against incumbent Mary Pinkett and police officer James E. Davis. Louis had charged Pinkett with being absent in the community, and he was endorsed by Congressman

Major Owens Major Robert Odell Owens (June 28, 1936 – October 21, 2013) was an American politician and librarian who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007, representing the New York's 11th and then 12th Congressional distri ...

, State Senator

Velmanette Montgomery Velmanette Montgomery (born December 22, 1942) is an American Democratic Party politician who represented the 25th district of the New York State Senate from 1984 until 2020. The district comprised Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Red Hook, Bedford-S ...

, and Assemblyman

Roger L. Green Roger L. Green (born June 23, 1949) is an American legislator who served in the New York State Assembly for 26 years, from 1981 to 2007 (with a brief interruption in 2004), representing District 57 which, allowing for redistricting adjustments, h ...

. Louis lost to Pinkett with 27.82% of the vote, but then ran against Pinkett again in the November 4, 1997, general election on the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

line, with Davis on the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

lines. Louis was defeated with 8.54% of the vote. Louis declared his candidacy in the 2001 Democratic primary for the same City Council seat, but he had dropped out of the race by August 2001.

Journalism

Formerly an associate editor of ''

The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'', Louis joined the ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' in 2004 and for many years wrote a column, "Commerce and Community", for ''

Our Time Press ''Our Time Press'' began publishing in February 1996. ''Our Time Press'' was co-founded by David Mark Greaves and Bernice Elizabeth Green and owned by DBG Media, publishers of Our Time Press, Inc. a privately held company. The newspaper has a cir ...

'', which is published weekly and based in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Louis also served on the

editorial board The editorial board is a group of experts, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take. Mass media At a newspaper, the editorial board usually consists of the editorial page editor, a ...

. On June 23, 2008, Louis became host of the ''Morning Show'', a three-hour talk program on radio station

WWRL WWRL (1600 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York City. WWRL airs an all-news radio format as an affiliate of the Black Information Network (BIN). The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. By day, WWRL broadcasts at 25,000 wat ...

; in 2009 he was succeeded by Mark Riley. In November 2010 ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' named him the city's best newspaper columnist and radio show host. Louis joined

NY1 NY1 (also officially known as Spectrum News NY1 and spoken as New York One) is an American cable news television channel founded by Time Warner Cable, which itself is owned by Charter Communications through its acquisition in May 2016. The channe ...

in November 2010 as political anchor and the host of ''

Inside City Hall ''Inside City Hall'' is an American political talk show that appears on the 24-hour cable-news television channel NY1. The show's format and topics focus primarily on political issues concerning New York City, but it extends into other issues, su ...

'', a program about New York City politics that airs nightly. He is the Director of the Urban Reporting program at the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

's Graduate School of Journalism. He is also a

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

contributor and has made frequent appearances on ''

Lou Dobbs Tonight ''Lou Dobbs Tonight'' was an American political and financial talk program that was hosted by Lou Dobbs. The program initially aired on CNN from its launch under the title ''Moneyline'', as its main financial news program. The program later shift ...

'' and other CNN news programs. Louis was once named by ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...

'' as one of "10 New Yorkers Making a Difference", "with energy, vision and independent thinking."

Personal life

Louis lives in

Crown Heights, Brooklyn Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Empire Boulevard/East New Yo ...

, with his wife, Juanita Scarlett, and their son, Noah Louis.

Electoral history

Notes

External links

Inside City Hall website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis, Errol 1962 births Living people American newspaper editors People from Harlem Brooklyn Law School alumni Harvard University alumni New York (state) Democrats Politicians from Manhattan Politicians from New York City Yale University alumni Television personalities from New Rochelle, New York Journalists from New York (state) 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century American politicians Charles H. Revson Foundation