Jelani Cobb: "Three or More is a Riot"

From one of the definitive journalists of this era — acclaimed historian, Pulitzer finalist, staff writer at the New Yorker, and dean of Columbia Journalism School–comes a kaleidoscopic, real-time portrait of our last turbulent decade.

What just happened?

From the moment Trayvon Martin’s senseless M**der initiated the Black Lives Matter movement in 2014, America has been convulsed by the new social movements–around guns, gender violence, sexual harrassment, race, policing, and on and on–and an equally powerful backlash that abetted the rise of the MAGA movement. In this punchy, powerful collection of dispatches, mostly published in The New Yorker, Jelani Cobb tries to pull the signal from the noise of chaotic era. Cobb’s work as a reporter takes readers to the frontlines of sometimes violent conflict and he uses his gifts as a critic and historian to crack open the meaning of it all. Through a stunning melange of narrative journalism, criticism, and penetrating profiles, Cobb captures the crises, characters, movements, and art of an era–and helps readers understand what might be coming next.

Cobb has added new material to this collection–retrospective pieces that bring these stories up to date and tie them together, shaping these powerful short dispatches into a cohesive, epic narrative of one of the most consequential periods in recent American history.

Jelani Cobb will be joined in conversation by The Atlantic's senior editor Vann Newkirk.

About the Author:

Jelani Cobb is the current Dean of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. He is a staff writer at The New Yorker, author of several books including The Substance of Hope: Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress and To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic. He is the editor/co-editor on multiple volumes including The Matter of Black Lives and The Essential Kerner Commission Report. Dr. Cobb is the producer/co-producer on documentaries including THE RIOT REPORT. He received the Peabody Award in 2020 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Commentary. Dr. Cobb currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Journalism Project and the Board of Trustees of the New York Public Library.

About the Moderator:

Vann Newkirk is a senior editor at The Atlantic and the host of the podcasts Floodlines and Holy Week.

About the Program:

• Doors will open to registered attendees at 6 pm.
• A local bookseller will be on-site and have books available for purchase.
• Free parking vouchers are available to program attendees who park at the Franklin Street Garage (15 W. Franklin Street) after 4pm. Ask Pratt event staff for your parking voucher prior to or after the program.
• There is no registration required for virtual attendance, simply visit the Enoch Pratt Free Library's Facebook or Youtube page.

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