Biography
Cobe Williams, also known as Ricardo “Cobe” Williams, is an American violence interrupter and community activist. He appears as himself in the 2011 documentary film The Interrupters, directed by Steve James, which follows his work and that of two colleagues in Chicago’s CeaseFire programme.
Williams began his career as a violence interrupter with CeaseFire Illinois in Englewood on Chicago’s South Side. He later became Deputy Director of Cure Violence, overseeing national and international operations, and has trained more than a thousand interrupters. He has also developed peace tournament models with NBA players and received awards including the Hero Award from psychologist Phillip Zimbardo and the United Nations Peace Award.
