Augusta "Gussie" Clark (March 5, 1932 – October 13, 2013) was an American

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Clark was elected to an

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

seat on the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...

in 1979, becoming the second

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

woman to serve on the city council. (

Ethel D. Allen Ethel D. Allen (May 8, 1929 – December 16, 1981) was an African Americans, African-American politician and physician from the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, who served as the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania un ...

, who served on the council from 1972 to 1979, was Philadelphia's first African-American councilwoman.) Clark served on the Philadelphia City Council from 1980 until her retirement in 2000.

Biography

Early life

Clark was born Augusta Alexander on March 5, 1932, in Uniontown, Alabama, to Harrison and Lula B. Alexander. She was raised in

Fairmont, West Virginia Fairmont is a city in Marion County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in West Virginia, eighth-most populous city in ...

, and earned her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

West Virginia State College West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a public historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Colored Institute. It is one of the original 19 land-grant colleges a ...

, now known as

West Virginia State University West Virginia State University (WVSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, land-grant university in Institute, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1891 as the West Virginia Color ...

. She met her future husband, Leroy W. Clark, while both were students at West Virginia State, though they did not marry until 1960, when both were living in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The couple had two children, Mark and Adrienne. She had moved to Philadelphia after college for professional reasons. She was a member of the Bright Hope Baptist Church from 1954 until 2013.

Career

Clark moved to Philadelphia when she was hired as an assistant on the now defunct ''Color'' magazine. ''Color'', which was based on ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine, was targeted for African-American readers. However, ''Color'' folded and went out-of business. Clark became a graduate student at

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

soon after the magazine's closure, where she received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

. She worked as a

in Philadelphia. Clark next enrolled at the

Temple University Beasley School of Law The James E. Beasley School of Law (known as Temple Law) is the law school of Temple University, a public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1895 and enrolls about 650 students. Student body Admission for the ...

when she was 39 years old and earned her

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

. Clark worked as on the election campaign of William H. Gray, who was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in 1978. Philadelphia community and political figures encouraged her to run for a seat on the Philadelphia City Council the following year. Augusta Clark was elected as a Democratic councilwoman-at-large in 1979, becoming only the second African-American woman to serve on the city council. Clark served on the Philadelphia City Council, representing a citywide at-large seat, from 1980 to 2000. She became the chair of the council's Education Committee for twelve years. She was known as a vocal advocate for the

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated State schools, public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the largest school district in Pennsylvania and the eighth-lar ...

. She was an opponent of

school voucher A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...

s, arguing the program would remove money from the public school system. Clark allied with the then-President of the Philadelphia City Council, John F. Street, to pass a 10% liquor tax, which was used as an additional source of revenue for public schools. Clark chaired the Public Property and Public Works Committee and served as the city council's Democratic majority whip for a time. Clark retired from the city council in 2000. In a 2000 interview with ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', Clark explained that she felt it was the right time to retire, saying, "I think elected office is like poker...I think you have to know when to hold them and know when to fold them. And when you feel you have amassed a body of work that satisfies you." Augusta Clark died at Lankenau Medical Center in

Wynnewood, Pennsylvania Wynnewood is a suburban Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community, located west of Philadelphia, straddling Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township, D ...

, on October 13, 2013, at the age of 81. She was survived by her two children, Mark and Adrienne, and four grandchildren. Her husband, Leroy W. Clark, died in 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Augusta 1932 births 2013 deaths Philadelphia City Council members Pennsylvania lawyers African-American librarians 20th-century American women librarians 20th-century American librarians Librarians from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Democrats Temple University Beasley School of Law alumni Drexel University alumni West Virginia State University alumni People from Uniontown, Alabama Politicians from Fairmont, West Virginia Women city councillors in Pennsylvania African-American city council members in Pennsylvania 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians Librarians from West Virginia Lawyers from Fairmont, West Virginia 20th-century African-American lawyers African-American women lawyers