Award-Winning Journalist & Scholar To Be Guest Of Honor For Westport's 20th Annual MLK Jr. Celebration

WESTPORT, CT — Journalist and scholar Jelani Cobb will be the guest of honor at Westport’s 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, scheduled for Jan. 17, 2026, at The Westport Library.

The event will take place at 1 p.m. in the library’s Trefz Forum. Cobb, the dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a staff writer for The New Yorker, will appear in conversation with novelist, playwright and filmmaker Trey Ellis.

The annual celebration is a partnership among The Westport Library, TEAM Westport, the Westport Country Playhouse, the Westport Museum for History and Culture, and the Westport/Weston Clergy Association. Tickets are available to the public.

"We are thrilled to honor and welcome both Dr. Cobb and Trey Ellis at the Library for this 20th anniversary celebration," said Bill Harmer, executive director of The Westport Library, in a statement. "Dr. Cobb is a groundbreaking figure in his field as well as a decorated journalist and renowned scholar. Westport is incredibly fortunate to have him here to help us celebrate the life and memory of Dr. King."

Added Harold Bailey, chair of TEAM Westport, "Dr. King reminded us that ‘the day we see truth and cease to speak is the day we begin to die.' 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."

Cobb is a Peabody Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist and has worked as a political analyst for MSNOW. He is the author of books on Barack Obama and the hip-hop aesthetic and has edited multiple volumes and produced documentaries. In 2023, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and has received fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation and Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center.

Organizers said the event marks the 20th anniversary of Westport’s Martin Luther King Jr. celebration and continues a tradition of featuring nationally recognized speakers from journalism, scholarship and the arts.

Previous keynote speakers have included Ibram X. Kendi, James Forman Jr., Heather McGhee, Layla Saad, Carol Anderson, Tricia Rose, Marilyn Ford, Junauda Petrus, Clarence B. Jones and, in 2025, Shonda Rhimes.

Click here to see a clip of Cobb’s conversation, “The Most Valuable Tool in the Search for Equality”

Click here for more on the event and for more in-depth bios of both Cobb and Ellis

20th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration: Honoring Jelani Cobb
Saturday, January 17
1 pm
Trefz Forum, The Westport Library

Presented by The Westport Library, TEAM Westport, the Westport Country Playhouse, the Westport Museum for History and Culture, and the Westport/Weston Clergy Association