There is now a Dwayne McDuffie Genius Grant Award (as there should be!)
Now you can pay it forward, just like Dwayne McDuffie did
Dwayne McDuffie is a titan in the world of superhero comics and animation. The Milestone hero Static who you know from all the DC Comics and cartoons? That's one of his. Marvel's Damage Control, which is now not only in comics, but the MCU, and board games? That's one of his as well. And that's not to mention his foundational work on the animated series Ben 10 and Justice League Unlimited.
Although McDuffie sadly passed away in 2011, his personality and work have lived on through subsequent reprints, re-issues, collections, spinoffs to his work, and the contributions of those he helped along the way. And now if you consider yourself helped by McDuffie - as a reader or watcher of his work, as a collaborator, and/or as a friend - you can help someone on his behalf.
A non-profit organization called the Dwayne McDuffie Foundation has been started by McDuffie's widow Charlotte (Fullerton) McDuffie, and one of its first acts is partnering with the iconic writer's childhood school for the gifted with a "significant" scholarship called the Dwayne McDuffie Genius Grant Award.
"The main beneficiary of the Foundation at this time is Dwayne’s beloved childhood school in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan: The Roeper School, a prestigious private institution of learning for gifted students pre-K through high school," Charlotte McDuffie writes on Facebook. "The Dwayne McDuffie Foundation has established a significant scholarship at Roeper called the “McDuffie Genius Grant”—a moniker Dwayne himself always wanted to use."
This scholarship will be awarded annually beginning this fall to a "young African-American student entering the Lower School, as Dwayne did, famously reminiscing that at Roeper, he finally 'felt at home.'"
And in February 2024, Roeper plans a ceremony to honor McDuffie for for his humitarianism and professional achievements.
If you would like to contribute to the McDuffie Genius Grant, please make all contributions through their website or by mail directly to: Roeper City & Country School, 41190 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, Michican 48304. When you donate, make sure to designate it as for the “Dwayne McDuffie Genius Grant Award.” Roeper says it will send you a receipt for this tax-deductible donation directly.
