ENGLEWOOD — A South Side social justice artist and photographer known for spotlighting systemic disinvestment in Black and Brown communities is now a MacArthur Foundation Fellow.

Englewood native Tonika Lewis Johnson was one of 22 people in the United States selected to receive the prestigious “genius grant” fellowship this year, the MacArthur Foundation announced Wednesday. The honor comes with a no-strings attached award of $800,000 paid in quarterly installments over five years.

MacArthur Fellows are awarded to “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction,” according to the MacArthur Foundation.

Candidates are nominated for the competitive award — known as the “genius grant” — by a po

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