Yvette Clarke

From KeyWiki

Yvette D. Clarke is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 11th district of New York.

Background

United States Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a Brooklyn native whose "roots are firmly planted in her Jamaican heritage". A product of the New York City Public School System, Rep. Clarke received a scholarship to Oberlin College and was a recipient of the prestigious APPAH/Sloan Fellowship in Public Policy and Policy Analysis.

Rep. Clarke was first elected to Congress in November 2006 and represents the 11th Congressional District which includes the communities of Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Sunset Park, Carroll Gardens, Kensington, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens and Prospect Park.

Prior to being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Clarke served on the New York City Council representing the 40th District in Brooklyn. She succeeded her pioneering mother, former City Council Member Una S. T. Clarke, making them the first mother-daughter succession in the history of the Council.^[1]

Committees

In the 111th Congress, Rep. Clarke sat on several committees including the House Education and Labor Committee, the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Small Business Committee. ^[2]

Black Caucus

Rep. Clarke also plans on using this voice to make the needs of her community a priority within the 112th Congress as the newly appointed Secretary for the Congressional Black Caucus and the Senior Whip for the Democratic Caucus. The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc., (CBCF) also recently welcomed Rep. Yvette D. Clarke of New York to its Board of Directors. ^[3]

Congressional Progressive Caucus

As of February 20 2009 Yvette Clarke was listed as a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.^[4]

Awards

Representative Clarke received an “A” rating from the Drum Major Institute, TheMiddleClass.org, and 100% ratings by Peace Action, The Brady Campaign and the American Civil Liberties Union. She was also named After-School Hero by The After-School Corporation for her work on the House Education and Labor Committee. In May 2009, Rep. Clarke was also presented with an honorary Doctorate Law Degree from St. Francis College. ^[5]

EMILY's List

Clarke has been supported by EMILY's List during her campaigning.

Calling on Israeli Govt. to lift Gaza Travel Ban

On Dec. 22, 2009, thirty-three U.S. Representatives wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling on her to request that the Israeli Government end the ban on student travel from Gaza to the West Bank. Yvette Clarke was one of the signatories of the letter.^[6] The entire letter together with a complete list of signatories can be read by clicking here.

Supported Lifting the Gaza Blockade

On Jan. 27, 2010, U.S. Representatives Keith Ellison and Jim McDermott led 52 other members of Congress in signing a letter addressed to President Barack Obama, calling for him to use diplomatic pressure to resolve the blockade affecting Gaza. Yvette Clarke was one of the signatories of the letter. ^[7] The entire letter together with a complete list of signatories can be read by clicking here.

Campaign to Make Immigration Reform a Top Issue in 2010

On October 13 2009 , immigration activists from around the country gathered to join in a vigil and rally in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC., where Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez and other elected officials launched a new push for comprehensive immigration reform, building to the opening months of 2010. their banners read “Reform Immigration FOR Families” and “Family Unity Cannot Wait.”

More than 750 people traveled to Washington on buses from up and down the Eastern seaboard and as far away as Texas, Florida, Ohio, Minnesota, and Michigan. They spent Tuesday morning meeting with Congressional offices before being joined by thousands of people from the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area, who gathered on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol to listen to testimonies from families, veterans, and children who face family disintegration because of immigration laws and deportation.

Religious leaders from a diverse array of faith traditions around the country, some organized through Familias Unidas, added their voices.

At the event Congressman Gutierrez outlined a set of principles for progressive immigration reform that needs to include a rational and humane approach to legalize the undocumented population, to protect workers’ rights, to allocate sufficient visas, to establish a smarter and more humane border enforcement policy, to promote integration of immigrant communities, to include the DREAM Act and AgJOBS bills, to protect rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and to keep families together.

The lawmakers who joined Rep. Gutierrez on stage, and addressed the gathering included Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairman Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA), Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairs Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), Congressional Black Caucus Member, Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Jared Polis (D-CO), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Michael Quigley (D-IL), and Delegate Gregorio Sablan (Northern Mariana Islands).^[8]

Staff

The following have worked as staff members for Yvette Clarke:^[9]

External links

• Clarke's website with the House of Representatives

References