Penn law professor Dorothy E. Roberts named a MacArthur Fellow

University of Pennsylvania law professor Dorothy E. Roberts, whose work focuses on racial inequities in health and social service systems, has been named a MacArthur Fellow.

Roberts was among 22 people whom the MacArthur Foundation on Tuesday named to its prestigious fellowship program, often referred to the “genius grant”, for “extraordinarily creative individuals” whose work has potential to significantly impact society. Each will receive $800,000 to support their work.

Roberts’ work “sheds light on systemic inequities, amplifies the voices of those directly affected, and boldly calls for wholesale transformation of existing systems,” according to her MacArthur profile. Reproductive health, bioethics, and child welfare are among the topics she has explored in her research.

Among the other grant winners is Ruha Benjamin, a transdisciplinary scholar and writer at Princeton University who studies how new technologies and medical research often reinforce social and racial inequality and bias.

In a video posted to the MacArthur website, Roberts said she wants to “expose deeply embedded racism” in social support programs, such as the child welfare system, that are intended to protect children but end up hurting families.

“We have to pay attention and work alongside people who are most harmed by social inequality,” she said. “That’s a reason to get started now, to reimagine better approaches to meeting human needs that are more caring, and just, and equitable.”

» READ MORE: The child welfare system can destroy families | Opinion

Roberts has been affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania since 2012, where she currently works as a law and sociology professor. She is a founding director of the Penn Program on Race, Science and Society.

The grant winners range in age from 39 to 75, and their occupations include poet (Jericho Brown), violinist (Johnny Gandelsman), cabaret performer (Justin Vivian Bond) and disability activist (Alice Wong). The class of 2024 members live in 15 states and the nation’s capital: Washington-based Jason Reynolds is one of only a handful of children’s and young adult authors ever honored by the foundation.

Also among the recipients is Native American filmmaker Sterlin Harjo, who created the Emmy-nominated FX on Hulu television series Reservation Dogs.