Bio

Malaika Jabali is a journalist and author whose writing has appeared in The Guardian, where she was a columnist, Teen Vogue, The New Republic, Vox, Very Smart Brothas, The Intercept, and ESSENCE, where she served as Senior News and Politics Editor. A 2024 New Arizona Fellow at New America, Malaika’s writing on race and politics has led to appearances on Bloomberg, NPR, The Hill TV, BBC Radio, The Brian Lehrer Show, and a sit-down with Oscar-winning director Michael Moore on his Rumble podcast, among others.

Her debut book, It’s Not You, It’s Capitalism: Why It’s Time to Break Up and How to Move On, (Hachette/Algonquin) was named by the Boston Globe as one of the Best Books of 2023, and her debut political feature, “The Color of Economic Anxiety,” published in Current Affairs Magazine, was awarded the 2019 New York Association of Black Journalists Media Award for Newspaper/ Magazine feature.

A Columbia Law School graduate, Malaika was an Articles Editor for the Columbia Journal of Race & Law. A retired public policy attorney, Malaika wrote legislation and examined policy for the New York City Council for 7 years.

Prior to law school, she received her M.S. from the Columbia University School of Social Work, studying social welfare policy, criminal justice, and social enterprise. She won the Benjamin and Agnes Louard Scholarship for her academic achievement and leadership in the school’s African-American community. Malaika graduated with a B.A. in English and African-American Studies from Emory University, where she was the co-Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of the Black student magazine, Black Star.