Writers Daniel Alarcón and Reginald Dwayne Betts have also been named on the list of 25 new fellows to receive $625,000 from the foundation
The bestselling historian Ibram X Kendi has been awarded a $625,000 (£460,000) MacArthur “genius grant” for his work on redressing racism in the US.
Kendi, the author of the bestseller How to Be an Antiracist, is one of 25 new fellows to receive the no-strings-attached grant from the MacArthur Foundation. The grants go to “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction”. Candidates are nominated by a wide pool of experts, and recipients chosen by a selection committee.