Biography
Jelani Cobb, also credited as William Jelani Cobb, is an American writer, author and educator who has appeared in several documentaries and television series. Born on 21 August 1969 in Queens, New York City, he is Dean and Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism at Columbia Journalism School and a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2015.
Cobb previously served as an associate professor of history and director of the Institute for African American Studies at the University of Connecticut. He is known for his appearances as himself in the documentary 13th (2016) and as Jelani Cobb in Marvel's Luke Cage (2018). He has also featured in Queen Sugar (2017) and produced or written for series including Frontline and American Experience.
