About Us

Now, more than ever, racism is recognized as a pressing global challenge that requires coordinated, intentional, and urgent engagement. Desirée Cormier Smith serves as the Department’s first Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice (SRREJ). Her mandate is to advance the human rights of members of marginalized racial, ethnic, and Indigenous communities, including people of African descent, and to build global partnerships to combat systemic racism, discrimination, and xenophobia globally.

The Special Representative leads the Department’s efforts to create a world where people of all races and ethnicities are equally valued, included, and able to live up to their full potential. The position’s mandate is based upon Executive Order 13985 Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities and Executive Order 14091 Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. As stated by President Biden, “Advancing equity is not a one-year project. It’s a generational commitment.”

Current strategic priorities include implementing U.S. foreign policy to (1) combat structural racism; (2) advance human rights; (3) promote democracy; (4) pursue economic equality; (5) address climate change, and/or (6) bolster peace and stability.

To learn more about the work of the Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice, follow @US_SRREJ on Twitter. For media inquiries, please contact DRL-Press@state.gov.

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