Remembering Soma Golden Behr: A Journalism Icon

Soma Golden Behr – A Journalism Icon

Soma Golden Behr, a distinguished senior editor at The New York Times, passed away on Sunday in Manhattan at the age of 84. She was a prolific source of story ideas and dedicated her career to shedding light on issues of poverty, race, and class through Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting.

Her husband, William A. Behr, disclosed that her battle with breast cancer, which had metastasized, led to her passing at the palliative care unit of Mount Sinai Hospital.

Soma, with an economics degree from Radcliffe, maintained a lifelong commitment to addressing inequalities in society. She played a pivotal role in overseeing groundbreaking series at The Times that delved into the deep-rooted divisions of race and class in America.

“How Race Is Lived in America”, a series co-led by Soma and Gerald M. Boyd, challenged the notion of a “post-racial” society at the turn of the 21st century. The immersive reporting, spanning integrated communities, the military, and other facets of American life, earned The Times the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 2001.

Another impactful series, “Class in America” in 2005, exposed the stark disparities perpetuated by social class dynamics.

In a poignant 10-part series in 1993 titled “Children of the Shadows”, Soma shattered stereotypes surrounding urban youth. Notably, reporter Isabel Wilkerson received a Pulitzer Prize for her moving portrayal of a 10-year-old caretaker for his siblings.