Clarke's parents immigrated to Brooklyn from Jamaica.[6] She has said that she "grew up in a household that was about discipline,working hard in school and about making the most of every opportunity".[6] Clarke was a member of Prep for Prep,a non-profit organization that looks to support students of color in accessing private school education.[7][8]
Clarke attended Choate Rosemary Hall,where she was the only girl to join the boys' wrestling squad.[9]
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University,where she was president of the Black Student's Association.[10] In 1996,only 11 percent of juniors and seniors at the college were black,while 25 percent of juniors and seniors living in Quad houses were black,according to a student-produced report.
While presiding over the BSA in 1994 she invited Tony Martin to speak.[11]
In 2006,Clarke joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund,where she co-led the political participation group and focused on voting rights and election law reform.[16] In 2011,Clarke was appointed director of the civil rights bureau of then Attorney General of New York,Eric Schneiderman,where she led initiatives on criminal justice issues and housing discrimination. Under this initiative,the bureau reached agreements with retailers on racial profiling of their customers,police departments on policy reform,and with school districts on the school-to-prison pipeline.[17][18]
In 2015,Clarke was appointed president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.[15][17] One of her first roles was leading Election Protection,a voter protection coalition.[6]The New York Times described her as "one of the nation's foremost advocates for voting rights protections."[19]
In 2019,Clarke represented Taylor Dumpson,the first African American woman student body president of American University,in her lawsuit against avowed neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin,who initiated a racist "troll storm" against her,making her fear for her life and disrupting her ability to pursue her education.[20][21] Clarke successfully fought for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to recognize that hateful online trolling can interfere with access to public accommodation,as well as securing damages and a restraining order.[20]
In early 2020,Clarke said that she was "deeply concerned that African American communities are being hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,and that racial bias may be impacting the access they receive to testing and healthcare."[22] In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd,Clarke described the pandemic,record rates of unemployment and racial injustice caused by police brutality as a "perfect storm" for social unrest in the United States.[23]
In 2015,Clarke opened an investigation into the Boy Scouts to look at the national group's ban on openly gay adults and alleged hiring rejections based on sexual orientation in New York.[28] The investigation was about "ensuring equal protection under the law for all New Yorkers,including lesbian,gay,bisexual and transgender individuals who live and work in New York."[29] In July 2015,her office secured an agreement with the Boy Scouts of America to end their policy of excluding openly gay adults from serving as leaders in the organization.[30] The terms of the agreement applied nationally. In an editorial with Chad Griffin,she called for policymakers and the public to treat the recent wave of hate-motivated violence toward trans women of color as a national crisis.[31]
Disability rights
Clarke secured agreements with bus companies,[32] major retailers,[33] movie theatres,theatre clubs,[34] and polling sites.[35]
Religious rights
Clarke secured settlements on religious rights. These agreements helped employees at NYC Health And Hospitals Corporation,the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country,[36] by ensuring that employees' religious accommodations requests comply with state and local law and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[37] She secured similar agreements with Milrose Consulting.[38]
Immigration
She supported a legal effort behind Cesar Vargas who became the first illegal immigrant to carry a law license in New York.[39] She successfully sued the Trump administration when it tried to revoke Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberian Americans.[40]
Hurricane Katrina
In 2005,she co-edited Seeking Higher Ground:The Hurricane Katrina Crisis,Race,and Public Policy Reader with Manning Marable. The book examined the racial impact of the disaster and the failure of governmental,corporate and private agencies to respond to the plight of the New Orleans black community.[41]
Hate speech
Clarke supported Facebook's extension of its ban on hate speech to prohibit the promotion and support of white nationalism and white separatism.[42] Her advocacy led to a temporary shutdown of the Stormfront website,[43] a white supremacist website.[44] At a congressional hearing,she said white nationalism was about "real issues that are truly a life-and-death matter for far too many."[45]
Hate crimes
Clarke sued the Proud Boys after they attacked the Metropolitan AME Church and other churches in Washington,D.C.[46] A Black Lives Matter banner was stolen from the church and burned during a pro-Trump march on December 12,2020.[47] After the suit was filed,she said:"Black churches and other religious institutions have a long and ugly history of being targeted by white supremacists in racist and violent attacks meant to intimidate and create fear. Our lawsuit aims to hold those who engage in such action accountable."[48] She leads[when?] the James Byrd Jr. Center to Stop Hate at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Together with Spencer Freedman,she supervised the Religious Rights Unit at the New York State Attorney General's Office.[49] She exposed a member of the Proud Boys inside the East Hampton Police Department in Connecticut.[50] She has fought for passage of the federal Anti-Lynching Prevention Law.[51] As a keynote speaker for Georgetown University's Center for Jewish Civilization,she said:"White nationalism should be of profound concern to all Americans because it affects all communities and tears at the fabric of our nation."[citation needed]
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice
Clarke's nomination was supported by law enforcement organizations,[52] Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League,[53] Justice Department alumni from Republican and Democratic administrations,[54] Republican officials,[55] dozens of managing partners of corporate law firms,[56] General Counsels of Fortune 500 corporations,[57] hate crime survivors,[58] and others.[59] She also had support from public figures such as Michael Bloomberg,[60]Lilly Ledbetter[61] and Michael Chertoff.[62]
The Jewish News Syndicate also noted Clarke's role as leader of Harvard's Black Student Association in 1994 in inviting antisemitic conspiracy theorist professor Tony Martin as a guest speaker on campus.[70] Clarke characterized Martin as "an intelligent,well-versed black intellectual who bases his information of indisputable fact."[70] On January 14,2021,Clarke apologized for inviting Martin,saying,"Giving someone like him a platform,it's not something I would do again."[71]
During her confirmation hearing,Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that Clarke's skills and experiences would help the Department of Justice combat discrimination "in areas from housing to education to employment" and "ensure accountability for law enforcement misconduct."[19] During her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee,Clarke was criticized by Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn for her alleged writings in support of "Defunding the Police."[72] Clarke responded by stating that she endorses attempts to increase police funding,but also wishes to see "more money for social services".[73]
Clarke's nomination was stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 11-11 after every GOP Senator on the committee voted against her nomination. On May 18,2021,the Senate voted 50–48 to discharge her nomination from committee.[74] She was then confirmed on May 25,2021,by a vote of 51–48.[75]
In 2024,it was reported that Clarke was a victim[77] and survivor[78] of years-long domestic violence. Clarke disclosed that this period "was a terrorizing and traumatizing period[79]". The period of domestic violence included a criminal conviction that was expunged.[80][81] Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee accused Clarke of lying to Congress and asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to remove her from office.[82]
Marable, Manning; Clarke, Kristen (2009). Barack Obama and African American empowerment: the rise of Black America's new leadership (1sted.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN978-0-230-10329-0. OCLC608023888.
Marable, Manning; Clarke, Kristen (2008). Seeking higher ground: the Hurricane Katrina crisis, race, and public policy reader. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN978-1-4039-8396-1. OCLC129952587.
Clarke, Kristen (2008). "Race-Ing the Post-Katrina Political Landscape: An Analysis of the 2006 New Orleans Election". Seeking Higher Ground. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US. pp.33–37. doi:10.1057/9780230610095_3. ISBN978-1-4039-7779-3.
1 2 "2017 Alumni Award Presented to Kristen Clarke '93". www.choate.edu. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2020. Choate taught her to be bold and courageous in other realms as well -- she was the only girl to join the boys wrestling squad, an opportunity for an intense workout and to challenge gender stereotypes.
↑ Bishai, Graham W.; Murphy, Norah M. (12 October 2017). "A Social Blueprint: Harvard's Houses, From Randomization to Renewal". The Crimson. The Quad was "vibrant," and "one of the most racially diverse sections of campus," former president of the Black Student's Association Kristen M. Clarke '97 recalls.
↑ Lebwohl, Martin (6 December 1994). "The BSA President's Actions Raise Unsettling Questions". The Crimson. Last week, Wellesley Professor Tony Martin spoke at Harvard at the invitation of the Black Students Association .. after the introduction, Martin lavished praise on Kristen M. Clarke '97, the BSA president, who, he said, had courageously invited him
↑ Marnin, Julia (14 January 2021). "Fact Check: Did Joe Biden's assistant AG pick write about Black vs. white genetics?". Newsweek. Retrieved 4 February 2021. Despite Clarke's recent assertions that her 1994 co-authored article for The Harvard Crimson was meant to 'express an equally absurd point of view,' it is not stated in the article that her and Kennedy's claims on Black vs. white genetics were not serious at the time.
↑ "Crimson Is No Friend of Black People - Opinion". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2021-02-23. Second, by listing five theories and observations that suggest that darker-skinned people may indeed benefit--other than cosmetically--from the presence of melanin, Clarke calls for a more open, comprehensive examination of race and intelligence
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