Jelani Cobb
Jelani Cobb | |
---|---|
Born | William Jelani Cobb August 21, 1969 New York City, U.S. |
Education | Howard University (BA) Rutgers University, New Brunswick (MA, PhD) |
Occupation(s) | Writer, author, educator |
Organization(s) | Columbia University The New Yorker |
Title | Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism |
William Jelani Cobb (born August 21, 1969)[1] is an American writer,[2] author, educator, and dean of the Columbia Journalism School.[3]
Before joining Columbia University as the Ira A. Lipman Professor of Journalism in 2016, Cobb was an associate professor of history and director of the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Connecticut from 2012 to 2016.[4] Since 2015, he has been a staff writer at The New Yorker.[2][5]
Early life
William Jelani Cobb was born in
Cobb attended
Career
Cobb has received
While studying at Howard, Cobb began his professional writing career, first publishing at a short-lived periodical called One. In time, he began contributing to the Washington City Paper. His first national outlet was YSB magazine, part of the Black Entertainment Television, Inc. media empire, beginning in 1993. He also became more politically active during this time, and was involved with an organization that took over Howard's administration building in 1989. It was around this time that Cobb, seeking to connect more with African tradition, decided to add "Jelani"—a word meaning "powerful"—to his name.
Cobb specializes in post-Civil War African-American history, 20th-century American politics, and the history of the Cold War. He served as a delegate and historian for the 5th Congressional District of Georgia at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He previously taught at Rutgers and Spelman College.[1]
In an August 2022 interview with
Publications
Cobb's books include The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress, and other national broadcast outlets.
While doing research at the New York University library, Cobb stumbled upon a cache of previously unpublished writings by Harold Cruse, an influential scholar. Cobb tracked down Cruse at a retirement home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and obtained permission to organize and edit Cruse's writings and publish them in book form. The result, The Essential Harold Cruse: A Reader, edited by Cobb with a foreword by Stanley Crouch, was published in 2002; it was listed as a 2002 Notable Book of The Year by Black Issues Book Review. It enhanced Cobb's stature among the African-American Studies community.
Cobb has authored several books, including a scholarly monograph based on his doctoral thesis titled Antidote to Revolution: African American Anticommunism and the Struggle for Civil Rights, 1931–1957.
In 2003, Cobb wrote of the William Lynch speech, "it is absolutely fake".[12]
Bibliography
Books
- Cruse, Harold (2002). William Jelani Cobb (ed.). The essential Harold Cruse : a reader. Foreword by Stanley Crouch. New York: Palgrave.
- Cobb, William Jelani (2004). Antidote to Revolution: African American Anticommunism and the Struggle for Civil Rights, 1931–1957. New York: Columbia University Press.
- — (2007). The devil & Dave Chappelle & other essays. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press.
- — (2007). To the break of dawn : a freestyle on the hip hop aesthetic. New York: New York University Press.
- — (2010). The substance of hope : Barack Obama and the paradox of progress. New York: Walker.
- United States. National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (2021). Cobb, Jelani & Matthew Guariglia (eds.). The essential Kerner Commission report. New York: Liveright.
Essays and reporting
- Cobb, Jelani (March 21, 2012). "Trayvon Martin and the parameters of hope". News Desk. The New Yorker.[a]
- — (September 1, 2014). "Bullets and ballots". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 90 (25): 17–18.
- — (June 29, 2015). "Terrorism in Charleston". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 91 (18): 17–18.
- — (April 25, 2016). "Working–class heroes". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 92 (11): 33–34.[b]
- — (July 25, 2016). "Across the divide". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 92 (22): 15–16.[c]
- — (October 10, 2016). "Millenialism". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 92 (32): 33–34.[d]
- — (March 13, 2017). "A state away". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 93 (4): 27–28.[e]
- — (April 24, 2017). "Reversal of justice". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 93 (10): 35–36.[f]
- — (December 4, 2017). "A history of paranoia". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 93 (39): 19–20.[g]
- — (May 8, 2017). "Out of time". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 93 (12): 15–16.[h]
- — (February 12–19, 2018). "State of the resistance". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 94 (1): 27–28.
- — (July 27, 2020). "The matter of Black lives". The Political Scene. March 14, 2016. The New Yorker. 96 (21): 18–23.[i]
- — (December 21, 2020). "Special Elections". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 96 (41): 19, 22.[j]
- — (March 1, 2021). "Assessing threats". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 97 (2): 11, 14.[k]
- — (September 20, 2021). "The limits of liberalism : how Derrick Bell's pioneering work gave rise to critical race theory". Annals of Equality. The New Yorker. 97 (29): 20–22, 24–26.[l]
- — (February 6, 2023). "Historic battles". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 98 (48): 11–12.[m]
———————
- Bibliography notes
- ^ Available on website only.
- ^ Online version is titled "Learning to talk about class".
- ^ Online version is titled "Honoring the police and their victims".
- ^ Online version is titled "Hillary Clinton and the Millennial vote".
- ^ Online version is titled "Republicans and the Constitution".
- ^ Online version is titled "Will Jeff Sessions police the police?".
- ^ Online version is titled "The Trump Administration and Hoover-era paranoia".
- ^ Online version is titled "The banal horror of Arkansas’s executions".
- ^ Originally published in the March 14, 2016 issue.
- ^ Online version is titled "The high stakes of Georgia's Loeffler-Warnock Senate race".
- ^ Online version is titled 'Judas and the Black Messiah' and the Klan Act".
- ^ Online version is titled "The man behind critical race theory".
- ^ Online version is titled "Ron DeSantis battles the African American A.P. Course—and history".
References
- ^ a b c "Cobb, William Jelani". Contemporary Black Biography. Gale, 2005, updated January 4, 2007. Via Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Jelani Cobb". The New Yorker.
- ^ "Jelani Cobb Appointed Dean of Columbia Journalism School | Office of the President". president.columbia.edu. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "Jelani Cobb". Columbia Journalism School. Columbia University. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
- ^ a b "Jelani Cobb". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
- ^ McHugh, Calder (August 26, 2022). "'Are We the Problem?' The New Dean of Columbia J-School Wrestles With Its Place in the Industry". Politico Magazine. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ Staff, AFRO (May 16, 2022). "Jelani Cobb named new dean of Columbia University Journalism School". AFRO American Newspapers. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ "Jelani Cobb | Columbia Journalism School". journalism.columbia.edu. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
- ^ McHugh, Calder (August 26, 2022). "'Are We the Problem?' The New Dean of Columbia J-School Wrestles With Its Place in the Industry". Politico Magazine. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic (New York University Press, 2007) at goodreads.com, accessed February 23, 2011.
- ^ 2007, Thunder's Mouth Press.
- ^ "Willie Lynch is Dead (1712?-2003)". October 3, 2003. Archived from the original on October 3, 2003. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
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External links
- Jelani Cobb at IMDb
- Appearances on C-SPAN