Jelani Cobb, Pulitzer Prize finalist and dean of the Columbia Journalism School, will reflect on the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a conversation with Randolph-Macon College President Michael Hill on Jan. 21 as part of a weeklong series of events honoring the slain civil rights leader.

The discussion will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are free but required. Cobb will share insights from his newest book, “Three or More Is a Riot,” and engage in a conversation on King’s legacy, the modern civil rights movement and the work still needed to achieve justice. 

A book signing with Cobb is scheduled from 5:45 to 6:15 p.m. at the same venue. 

Cobb is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he covers history, justice, politics and democracy. He co-edited “The Matter of Black Lives,” a collection highlighting Black history and culture in America. A Peabody Award winner, Cobb has also served as a correspondent for PBS’ “Frontline” documentaries including “Whose Vote Counts” and “Policing the Police.” 

His previous books include “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 has received the Hillman Prize for Journalism and the Walter Bernstein Award from the Writers Guild of America, as well as fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation and Harvard’s Shorenstein Center. 

Randolph-Macon’s MLK Week also includes additional events. Students will assemble care kits for residents of Ashland Nursing and Rehabilitation center from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 19 in the Dollar Tree Room inside Brock Commons. On Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Ashland Theater, the college will partner with the Pamunkey Regional Library and The Newviews Agency for a screening of the short film “Echoes of a Dream,” followed by a panel discussion.