2024 UNESCO Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination

Marie-Elena John

Marie-Elena John is the Senior Racial Justice Lead at UN Women. Her work on an intersectional racial justice approach has focused on Women of African Descent in the context of the Decade for People of African Descent, placing special attention on intersectionality in the reparatory justice arena. In addition, she has developed a stream of work on the creative arts as an underutilized strategy in anti-racism efforts. Other global areas of concentration include Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent. Other positions she has held include serving as the Special Priorities Coordinator to the Executive Director of UN Women, and as Gender Advisor to the President of the General Assembly. She is a published author of the historical fiction novel UNBURNABLE (HarperCollins’ Amistad), widely used as a university-level text, which explores race, class, gender and resistance to enslavement in the African Diaspora. She spent ten years as a participatory development, human rights, and women’s rights specialist at the African Development Foundation, the International Human Rights Law Group (later Global Rights), and the Programme to Combat Racism at the World Council of Churches. She holds a Master of International Development from Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s degree from The City College of New York.