Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ta-Nehisi Coates Among 2015 MacArthur Genius Grantees Of Color

By Sameer Rao Sep 29, 2015

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced the list of 2015 Genius Grant Fellows, and there are eight prominent scholars, activists and creators of color among the 24 people honored in an announcement yesterday. 


The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates and "Hamilton" playwright/composer/performer Lin-Manuel Miranda are among these awardees. Coates (whose book "Between The World And Me" is a New York Times bestseller) and Miranda (best known for "In The Heights") join theatrical set designer Mimi Lien, multimedia visual artist LaToya Ruby Frazer, Instituto del Progreso Latino president Juan Salgado, UC Berkeley inorganic chemist Peidong Yang, Ghanaian educator and entrepreneur Patrick Awuah and environmental engineer Kartik Chandran as this year’s MacArthur Fellows of color. 


The MacArthur Fellowships, popularly known as "Genius Grants," come with a no-strings attached, five-year stipend of $625,000 each. Fellows were privately notified a few weeks ago. The money goes to support the work of rising thought-leaders and changemakers across various disciplines and professions. 


Visit the MacArthur Foundation’s website to read the full list of grantees. 


(H/t New York Times