The audience gasped in dismay when it learned why there was so much security Thursday night when syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. spoke at the University of Puget Sound’s Kilworth Chapel.

Pitts himself revealed the reason for the extra protection by campus security and off-duty Tacoma police officers hired by UPS: Both he and UPS had received e-mails threatening his life.

Pitts’ speech came off without incident, but many in the audience were stunned that such a thing could happen here. The Northwest, after all, prides itself on its racial tolerance. Tacoma has an Ethnic Fest, celebrating the rich diversity of the community.

The threats could have come from anywhere in the country, but their appearance here was still unsettling. The idea that someone would threaten to kill anyone for speaking his mind – much less a Pulitzer Prize-winning black journalist – is sickening and disheartening. The threats were meant to create fear.

Pitts, whose columns appear in The News Tribune, is no stranger to threats. Last year, one of his columns so angered racists that he received many threatening e-mails, and his home address and phone number were published on a white supremacist Web site.

In his speech Thursday, Pitts touched on the fact that many Americans fear for the life of Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama. Yes, Obama has also received threats, and the Secret Service began protection detail for him earlier than for the other candidates (excluding Hillary Clinton, who as former first lady has continued to have Secret Service protection).

But Pitts said that fear is no reason for Obama not to run or for people not to vote for him. “Living in fear is an oxymoron,” Pitts said.

Spoken like someone who’s been there – and who won’t give in to hate.