The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced its 2021 class of MacArthur Fellows.

Twenty-five artists, scholars, and scientists working in fields ranging from civil rights to computational virology to geomorphology to the performing and visual arts were selected based on three criteria: exceptional creativity, promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishments, and potential for the fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work. Popularly known as the "genius grants," each fellowship includes a "no strings attached" stipend of $625,000 paid out over five years.

The 2021 MacArthur Fellows include poet and attorney Reginald Dwayne Betts (Yale Law School), who advocates for the humanity and rights of individuals who are or have been incarcerated; biological physicist Ibrahim Cissé (Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics), who is developing microscopy tools to investigate the subcellular processes underlying genetic regulation and misfunction; documentary filmmaker Cristina Ibarra, who crafts nuanced narratives about borderland communities, often from the perspective of Chicana and Latina youth; historian and writer Ibram X. Kendi (Center for Antiracist Research, Boston University), who works to advance conversations around anti-Black racism and possibilities for repair; adaptive technology designer Joshua Miele (Amazon Lab126), who is developing devices to enable blind and visually impaired people to access everyday technologies and digital information; Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor (Princeton University), whose work is focused on the political and economic forces underlying racial inequality and the role of social movements in transforming society; and choreographer and dance entrepreneur Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (Florida State University and Urban Bush Women), who uses the power of dance and artistic expression to celebrate the voices of Black women and promote civic engagement and community organizing.

"As we emerge from the shadows of the past two years, this class of twenty-five fellows helps us reimagine what's possible," said MacArthur Fellows managing director Cecilia Conrad. "They demonstrate that creativity has no boundaries. It happens in all fields of endeavor, among the relatively young and more seasoned, in Iowa and Puerto Rico. Once again, we have the opportunity for exultation as we recognize the potential to create objects of beauty and awe, advance our understanding of society, and foment change to improve the human condition."