
This morning the MacArthur Foundation announced its latest class of fellows. Each fellow is awarded a grant (often called a "genius" grant) of $125,000 for six years. The money is given without restriction to help fund the work of the 24 awardees. This year, four Black women, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Rihannon Giddens, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Jesmyn Ward, were named geniuses. Take a look at their work.

Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones
"Chronicling the persistence of racial segregation in American society, particularly in education, and reshaping national conversations around education reform."

"Exploring the enduring bonds of community and familial love among poor African Americans of the rural South against a landscape of circumscribed possibilities and lost potential."