Ellis Cose

Ellis Cose photo

Since 1993, Ellis Cose (Cose, left, pictured with childhood buddy Verdeen White of Earth White and Fire) has served as contributing editor and columnist for Newsweek magazine. Cose is the author of several books, including the best-selling The Rage of a Privileged Class and The Envy of the World. He is also the author of Beyond Brown v. Board: The Final Battle for Excellence in American Education, a report to the Rockefeller Foundation on the legacy of the historic U.S. Supreme Court desegregation decision. His most recent book, Bone to Pick [2005], is a wide-ranging look at a number of societies—the United States, Ghana, South Africa, East Timor, and Peru among them—and their ways of coping with cruelty and pain. He was previously chairman of the editorial board of the New York Daily News and president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Journalism Education.

Cose began his journalism career as a weekly columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times—becoming, at the age of 19, the youngest editorial page columnist ever employed by a major Chicago daily. Cose, who is also a commentator for public radio, is a popular campus lecturer and public speaker.

Cose has appeared on The Today Show, Nightline, Dateline, ABC Evening News, Good Morning America, Charlie Rose, CNN’s Talk Back Live, and a variety of other nationally televised and local programs. Cose has received fellowships or individual grants from the Ford Foundation, The Andrew Mellon Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, and numerous journalism awards—including the University of Missouri Medal for career excellence and distinguished service in journalism, two Clarion Awards, and four National Association of Black Journalists first place awards (for commentary and for magazine writing). In 2004 Cose was named the first recipient of the newly inaugurated annual Vision Award from the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. In 2006 he won a Unity Award for commentary and also shared in a first place award from the Society of Professional Journalists.

A Chicago native, Cose is a graduate of the University of Illinois (Chicago) and holds a master’s degree in Science, Technology and Public Policy from George Washington University. He is married to Lee Llambelis, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney who is the legal director for the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. He has a daughter, Elisa Maria.

Learn more at Ellis Cose’s official website



11 Books by Ellis Cose