Lauretta Macauley, nominated by Anna Carastathis, is the founder of the United African Women Organisation in Athens, Greece. A leader in the antiracist movement, she was the initiator of many political campaigns, including “No to Racism from the Cradle”; (2005), which mobilised for regularisation of ‘second generation immigrants,’ affecting legal change. As an actor, in theatre (Racism from the Cradle) and in the film Amygdala, a film about belonging, estrangements, and borders, both around us and within us. Over her thirty years living and working here, Lauretta Macauley politicised her own struggle for regularisation in Greece, including being threatened with deportation.

Lauretta is also an organiser (countless campaigns and cultural events, including the annual African Women’s Festival) and political candidate (in local elections), she has contributed significantly and tirelessly to creating antiracist feminist narratives, discourses, and communities. She is a bridge-builder between movements and a constant, inspiring presence in feminist, antiracist, and LGBTQl+ movements. She is a mentor to young Afro-Greeks, feminists of all origins, and supports other women who have recently arrived in Athens from the African continent.

For her achievements she was recently awarded a Diversity and Inclusion award. She contributed to scholarly research, generously giving interviews and inspiring analyses that have advanced the highly marginalised area of critical race scholarship in Greece.