Seattle, WA, Sep. 23, 2026 — In a time of growing oligarchy, authoritarianism, and increased attacks on education, scholarship, information, and facts, Marguerite Casey Foundation (MCF) is proud to announce the 2026 Freedom Scholars: three pioneering scholars whose work is fundamental to movements of freedom and justice that resist this agenda and build a better world.

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Launched in 2020 under the leadership of MCF president and CEO Dr. Carmen Rojas, the Freedom Scholars initiative is rooted in the understanding that deeply thoughtful, well-researched, and bold scholarship is essential to achieving a just, free, and functioning democracy, economy, and society for all people, not just the few. However, this critical scholarship is too often underfunded and unprioritized. With Freedom Scholars, MCF seeks to help close this gap for scholars and their transformative work. 

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“My world has been profoundly shaped by scholars 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, these scholars do the important work of connecting the history of struggles for social change with future possibilities created through community and solidarity,” said Carmen Rojas, president and CEO of MCF.

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Freedom Scholars conduct research in varied cutting-edge fields, such as feminist prison abolition, global urbanism, alternatives to movement capture, Indigenous erasure, and militarized policing. Each Freedom Scholar receives an unrestricted $250,000 award to use as they see fit. Since its launch, 42 scholars have participated in the program, including Robin D. G. Kelley, Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, Mariame Kaba, Dean Spade, and Barbara Ransby. Each scholar goes through an invite-only selection process. Submissions and nominations are not accepted. 

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The 2026 Freedom Scholars Are:

1. Naomi Klein — “Amid our flooded information zones, I try to offer cognitive maps that place events in economic and historical context. Mapmaking is collective work, and while it cannot impose order on a chaotic world, it can help calm us as we face the unending deluge. That calm is the precondition for strategic thinking.” 
2. Professor Veena Dubal — “Through my scholarship on gig work and my work as American Association of University Professors general counsel, I see my role as standing in solidarity with and defending the institutions, workers, and movements that make democracy possible. In this moment, that means exposing how power operates—from digital platforms to universities—and insisting on collective freedom.”
3. Dr. Durba Mitra — “In a time when authoritarian attacks have threatened scholars and activists committed to sustaining the lives of women, queer, and trans peoples, I believe in the transformative work of gender and sexuality studies to offer new horizons of justice for all centered in feminist visions of democratic self-determination and collective freedom.”

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For interviews, profiles, or commentary on the 2026 Freedom Scholars, contact: communications@caseygrants.org.

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