Saundra Smokes (October 8, 1954 – August 8, 2012) was an American journalist and playwright. Saundra was a free-lance journalist for 3.5 years and a former employee of ''The

Post-Standard ''The Post-Standard'' is a newspaper serving the greater Syracuse, New York, metro area. Published by Advance Publications, it and sister website Syracuse.com are among the consumer brands of Advance Media New York, alongside NYUp.com and ''Th ...

'' for more than 30 years. She was a member of the

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality p ...

, inducted into the

Syracuse Press Club The Syracuse Press Club, based in Syracuse, New York, serves as a 21-county area of central New York. The club is made up of journalists and communications specialists from throughout the Central New York region. The organization is for those who w ...

Wall of Distinction, and was a member of the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company. She was also a syndicated columnist for 22 newspapers nationwide and won a Cable Ace award for a video drama.

Early life and career beginnings

Smokes was born in

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, New York, and graduated from Nottingham High School. She attended the University of Buffalo, and then lived in Albany for a time before taking a job with the '' Herald Journal'' in 1978.

Column content

Through her column she shared her opinions about topics including, but not limited to

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in the ...

, politics, poverty, health, and popular culture. In November 1992, she wrote a column on the trial of police officers involved in the beating of Los Angeles motorist Rodney King that was picked up by newspapers across the country. Saundra Smokes also wrote plays, including ''A Tribute to Motown'' and ''In Our Own Backyard'', and a video drama, ''Daddy’s Home'', which won a Cable Ace award. Smokes won numerous journalism awards, including a first-place community service award from the New York State Publishers Association for her 2003 editorial series, “Taxpayers Held Hostage.” In 2004 she was inducted onto the

's Wall of Distinction, a permanent exhibit in the Civic Center.

Other work

In May 2012, she began writing a guest column for ''The Post-Standard'', and in June she started a weekly radio show on WHEN-AM, Power 620, ''Saundra Smokes Speaks on Venus''. She published many columns that were recognized by journalists across the nation.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smokes, Saundra 1954 births Writers from Syracuse, New York African-American dramatists and playwrights African-American activists American women journalists American women dramatists and playwrights 2012 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers Journalists from New York (state) Activists from New York (state) 20th-century American non-fiction writers University at Buffalo alumni 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women