Branden Jacobs-Jenkins just added another incredible achievement to his already stellar year — winning the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his Broadway play Purpose. The Brooklyn-based playwright’s Pulitzer win was announced on May 5, just weeks after Purpose opened on Broadway on March 17.
In an interview with The New York Times, Jacobs-Jenkins shared, “It feels amazing. You write a play, and you don’t know what’s going to happen to it. And this was not necessarily something I saw coming, but I welcome it. I’m overwhelmed.” He received the news on his way to his first Met Gala, calling it “the most surreal day ever.” With this win, Jacobs-Jenkins joins a powerful lineage of Black queer Pulitzer winners, including Michael R. Jackson for A Strange Loop and James Ijames for Fat Ham.
The LGBTQ community, especially Black queer voices, are celebrating this moment as another vital milestone in representation and excellence. Directed by Phylicia Rashad, Purpose first premiered in Chicago and has since received six Tony nominations. Jacobs-Jenkins already won his first Tony in 2024 for Appropriate. Named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2025, Jacobs-Jenkins continues to shape American theater. And with the Tony Awards in June, the celebration might not be over just yet.
