Clarence O. Smith, visionary co-founder of ESSENCE journal and a pioneering drive in Black media and advertising and marketing, died April 21 at 92. Smith’s legacy reshaped the panorama of publishing, promoting, and illustration for Black Individuals.
In 1970, recognizing the absence of media devoted to Black girls, Smith co-founded ESSENCE alongside Edward Lewis, Cecil Hollingsworth, and Jonathan Blount. The publication rapidly grew to become a cultural cornerstone, celebrating the sweetness, energy, and achievements of African American girls. At its peak, ESSENCE reached a readership of seven.5 million. Past publishing, Smith expanded ESSENCE Communications into a number of ventures, together with the ESSENCE Awards, ESSENCE Tv, and the ESSENCE Pageant of Tradition.
On social media, EBONY journal honored Smith’s legacy on X, writing, “Clarence O. Smith, co-founder of ESSENCE, has handed at 92. A real visionary, he created area for Black girls when few would. His work reshaped media, tradition & group. A pioneer whose legacy lives on in each platform that speaks to us, for us.”
Former editor Susan Taylor spoke about Smith’s passing and legacy in a press release to ESSENCE.
He shifted hearts, minds—and funding selections—within the typical promoting world,” Taylor wrote. “With the earnings he and his groups primarily generated, we editors have been in a position to develop the journal’s magnificence and depth.”
Born on March 31, 1933, within the Bronx, New York, Smith started his skilled journey after serving within the U.S. Military from 1957 to 1959. He later studied enterprise on the Baruch Faculty of Enterprise and labored for Prudential Insurance coverage in its Buyers Planning Company.
Smith earned quite a few accolades throughout his profession, together with the Ernst & Younger Entrepreneur of the Yr Award for Publishing in 1994 and the A.G. Gaston Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997.
He’s survived by his spouse, Elaine, and their household. Clarence O. Smith’s enduring legacy lives on by way of the continued celebration and empowerment of Black girls in media and past.
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