WESTPORT–Jelani Cobb, the award-winning journalist, scholar and dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, will be the guest of honor at Westport’s 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration next month.

He will join in conversation with novelist, playwright and filmmaker Trey Ellis, who will moderate the event, held in The Westport Library’s Trefz Forum at 1 p.m. Jan. 17, 2026.

The importance of journalism will be a theme of the celebration.

“Dr. King reminded us that ‘the day we see truth and cease to speak is the day we begin to die,’” said Harold Bailey, chair of TEAM Westport, which presents the annual celebration in partnership with the library, TEAM Westport, the Westport Country Playhouse, the Westport Museum for History and Culture and the Westport/Weston Clergy Association. “At a moment when the very idea of truth is under unprecedented pressure, there could be no more fitting focus than journalism. And there is no more powerful champion of its purpose and integrity than Jelani Cobb. We are truly fortunate to welcome him as we mark the 20th anniversary of the MLK Celebration here in Westport.”

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

Cobb is a Peabody Award winner, Pulitzer Prize finalist, MS Now political analyst and staff writer at The New Yorker who has written books on Barack Obama and hip hop. He also has edited several volumes and produced documentaries. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2023 and has received fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation and the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Journalism Project and the Board of Trustees of the New York Public Library, according to Columbia University.

Ellis has won two Emmys, two Peabody Awards, the American Book Award and the NAACP Image award, according to the Columbia University School of the Arts, where he is an associate professor in the film department. His screenplays include the Peabody Award-winning The Tuskegee Airmen for HBO and Good Fences for Showtime, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was shortlisted for the PEN award for Best Teleplay.

20th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration:

Honoring Jelani Cobb

Saturday, Jan. 17, 1 pm
The Westport Library
20 Jesup Road
Westport
(203) 291-4824

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