Secretary of State’s Award for Global Anti-Racism Champions

The Secretary of State’s Award for Global Anti-Racism Champions (GARC) honors individuals from civil society globally who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, leadership, and commitment to advancing the human rights of members of marginalized racial, ethnic, and Indigenous communities, including people of African descent, and combating systemic racism, discrimination, and xenophobia in their communities. The GARC awardees are outstanding civil society leaders, who were nominated by U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world. 

Meet the 2023 GARC awardees

The United States acknowledges the global nature of systemic racism. Structural racism weakens societies.  It makes democracies less prosperous, less stable, less equitable.  It fosters polarization and distrust.  And it robs democracies of the strength, the innovation, and the creativity that can be drawn from diverse and inclusive communities and workplaces.

We approach this work with great humility, as we still have a lot of work to do in the U.S. to fully address the realities of systemic racism. These challenges are not unique to the United States.  Structural racism, discrimination, and xenophobia are global scourges that require global solutions. 

We are proud of the role we have played in advancing human rights and fundamental freedoms across the globe.  We don’t do this out of self-righteousness.  We do it out of our deep conviction that every person is born with the same dignity and rights. That conviction is enshrined in our Constitution and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the United States and every other member of the United Nations has pledged to uphold.   We believe that respect for human rights is essential to national wellbeing and international peace.