Congressmember Yvette Diane Clarke, 60, has been a powerhouse New York politician for the last 22 years. She feels honored to represent the community that raised her.
Born in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Clarke is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants. She is especially proud to have literally followed in the footsteps of her mother, Dr. Una S. T. Clarke, in pursuing a life of politics and community service.
“She is the best mom ever, and growing up with her was just a life of love and laughter, discipline, and focus,” said Clarke. “I really developed my love of service because I was by her side as a child. My parents didn’t have access to daycare services and so my mom would basically take me to all of the organizing meetings that she attended. I was that kid in the corner with their lunchbox, their knapsack, and coloring book, just listening to how parents and community leaders were organizing.”
She attended Oberlin College and was a recipient of the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) Sloan Fellowship. She received the honorary degree of doctor of laws honoris causa from the University of Technology, Jamaica, and the honorary doctorate of public policy from the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean. She is also a proud member of the Brooklyn Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Before her time as a politician, Clarke served as director of business development for the Bronx Empowerment Zone (BOEDC). She was elected to serve as a City Council
member for the 40th District in Brooklyn from 2000 to 2007 — succeeding her mother, who served in the same seat from 1992 to 2001.
Clarke went on to be elected as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, first in 2006 for New York’s 11th Congressional District from 2007 to 2013. Due to redistricting, she was moved to New York’s 9th Congressional District in the 2012 election.
As a daughter of immigrants, Clarke brought the passion of her Caribbean heritage to Congress. She co-chairs the Congressional Caribbean Caucus and the Congressional Haiti Caucus, working to foster relationships between the U.S. and the Caribbean Community. Both of her parents are naturalized U.S. citizens, and are keenly aware of the rise of anti-immigrant sentiments locally and nationally.
“Most immigrants come during the most productive years of their lives and all they want to do is add value,” said Clarke, “so to hear anti-immigrant sentiments that are clearly targeted toward communities of color more specifically — because they are immigrants from East and Western Europe that we don’t see the same vitriol targeted at — [is] a painful reminder of the systemic racism that is a part of this nation.”
Clarke is also co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, and the Congressional Caucus on Virtual Augmented and Mixed Reality Technologies. She has been a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), serving as its first vice chair and chair of its Immigration Task Force. Recently, Clarke was elected to head the CBC as chairperson.