Three Black women have been awarded 2020 MacArthur Foundation genius grants for their lauded work in science fiction, young adult literature and essay writing.
Authors Jacqueline Woodson, N.K. Jemisin and Tressie McMillan Cottom were honored as MacArthur fellows and will each receive a $625,000 grant to be paid over the next five years, CNN reports.
Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming has published nearly 30 pieces of media about Black life and the Black experience, according to the foundation. Woodson was praised by MacArthur officials as a writer who is “redefining children's and young adult literature to encompass more complex issues and reflect the lives of Black children, teenagers, and families."
From 2016 to 2108, Jemisin, 48, won the Hugo Award for Best Novel for each of her books in the widely acclaimed Broken Earth trilogy. In The City We Became, Jemisin illustrates an abstract New York City populated with diverse LGTBQ+ characters.
The MacArthur Foundation highlighted Jemisin for "pushing against the conventions of epic fantasy and science fiction genres while exploring deeply human questions about structural racism, environmental crises, and familial relationships."
In June, she told CNN Style that she writes from her own perspective — one that as a Black woman, hasn’t always been prioritized.
"Fantasy is enhanced by having different voices. But I've always said that Black and female and queer writers will know when we have arrived when our work doesn't have to be exceptional. When our mediocre wish fulfillment fantasies get published as often as the white dudes' fantasies get published," she said.
Cottom, a 43-year-old sociologist, author and associate professor at the University of North Carolina, has worked to explore the intricacies of Black womanhood in America with works like the 2019 essay book Thick. The foundation noted that her work was "shaping discourse on highly topical issues at the confluence of race, gender, education, and digital technology” for many audiences.
"Public discourse benefits when we have a deeper, richer set of discursive tools to talk about social problems," Cotton said. "And my hope is that that will socialize and condition a listener to expect the voice of authority or the voice of expertise to be a complex, African American woman's voice."
Cecilia Conrad, the MacArthur Fellows managing director, said this year’s class is a collection of 21 individuals who are helping us reshape how we imagine our lives.
"In the midst of civil unrest, a global pandemic, natural disasters, and conflagrations, this group of 21 exceptionally creative individuals offers a moment for celebration," she said. "They are asking critical questions, developing innovative technologies and public policies, enriching our understanding of the human condition, and producing works of art that provoke and inspire us."
Other notable honorees of this year’s class include property law scholar Thomas Mitchell Wilson, poet Fred Moten, sociologist Forrest Stuart, and artist Ralph Lemon. Since 1981, more than 1,000 people been selected for the program, including New York Times bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates who was honored in the 2015 class, CNN reports.
