Scholars are central to the work of social justice. Through their research, writing, and teaching, they help to make sense of the world around us and create the necessary conditions to fight for a future where all living beings are treated with dignity and care. Scholarship that helps us imagine and fight for a government that works for all of us is critical now more than ever. Marguerite Casey Foundation (MCF) is proud to announce the 2026 Freedom Scholars, three visionary scholars whose powerful research, writing, and ideas provide a blueprint for the future we all know is possible.
"My world was profoundly shaped by the guidance and scholarship of teachers, researchers, and writers who centered social change, activism, and community organizing. Their work demonstrates that fighting for a future where everyone has what they need to live a good life is the worthiest of fights. In a context where history is being erased and memory is manufactured, this scholarship is a light—connecting the history of struggles for social change with the future possibilities created through community and solidarity,”
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Launched in 2020, the Freedom Scholar awards exemplify a commitment to scholarship benefiting movements led by Black and Indigenous people, migrants and queer people, poor people, and people of color. The awards also recognize the role that Freedom Scholars play in cultivating and nurturing movements for justice and freedom. Awardees are proven movement leaders who entered academia and academics with a demonstrated commitment to supporting social movements.
Freedom Scholars conduct research in cutting-edge areas of scholarship as varied as feminist prison abolition, global urbanism, alternatives to movement capture, Indigenous erasure, and militarized policing—critical fields of research that are often underfunded.
Each Freedom Scholar receives a onetime $250,000 award. There are no restrictions to the award—it is designed to provide greater freedom to scholars, supporting them to advance their work however they see fit. The selection process for the Freedom Scholar awards is invite-only, and we do not accept outside submissions or nominations.
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