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Yvette Diane Clarke (born November 21, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 9th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she first entered Congress in 2007, representing New York's 11th congressional district until redistricting. Clarke represented the 40th district in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
on the
New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...
from 2002 to 2006.


Early life and education

Clarke was born in
Flatbush, Brooklyn Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...
, on November 21, 1964, to Lesley Clarke and former city councilwoman Una Clarke, both immigrants from
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
. She graduated from Edward R. Murrow High School and earned a scholarship to enroll at
Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...
in
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, which she attended from 1982 to 1986.Celeste Katz, New York Daily News
Daily Politics: Yvette's Education
, August 23, 2006
While studying at Oberlin, she spent a summer interning in the Washington, D.C. office of Representative Major Owens, where she told '' Roll Call'' that she worked on legislative issues involving Caribbean-American trade. In August 2006, '' Crain's New York Business'' and the '' Daily News'' reported that Clarke's Oberlin transcripts indicated that she had not graduated, contrary to what her campaign literature claimed. Clarke initially said she thought she had earned sufficient credits to graduate from Oberlin, then later said she had completed her degree by attending courses at
Medgar Evers College Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City, United States. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was established in 1970 in central Brooklyn. It is name ...
. In 2011, Clarke suggested that she planned to finish her degree at Oberlin by completing independent academic projects.''Crain's New York Business''
Clarke Still Seeking Diploma
March 2, 2011


Early career

Before entering politics, Clarke worked as a childcare specialist and trained community residents to care for the children of working parents. Later, she served as an assistant to
State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
Velmanette Montgomery of
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
and Assemblywoman Barbara Clark, of
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
. Clarke also worked as director of
business development Business development entails tasks and processes to develop and implement growth opportunities within and between business organizations. It is a subset of the fields of business, commerce and organizational theory. Business development is the cre ...
for the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation and was the second director of the
Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
portion of the New York City Empowerment Zone.


New York City Council

Clarke was elected to the 40th district of the
New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...
in 2001. She succeeded her mother, former City Council member Una S. T. Clarke, who held the seat for more than a decade, making theirs the first mother-to-daughter succession in city council. She cosponsored City Council resolutions that opposed the war in Iraq, criticized the federal USA PATRIOT Act, and called for a national moratorium on the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
. She was a frequent critic of the Bush administration's policies, and opposed budget cuts by Bush and Congress on several programs addressing women's rights and poverty. She later voted against extending provisions of the Patriot Act after the election of President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
. * Committee on Contracts (chair) ** Committee on Education ** Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services ** Committee on Health ** Committee on Land Use ** Committee on Planning, Dispositions and Concessions ** Committee on Rules, Privileges and Elections


U.S. House of Representatives


District

Clarke's district, redrawn from the 11th in 2013, includes Sheepshead Bay, Gerritsen Beach, Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush,
Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...
,
Midwood Midwood is a neighborhood in the south-central part of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded on the north by the Bay Ridge Branch tracks just above Avenue I and by the Brooklyn College campus of the City ...
, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens and
Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in South Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park and Eighth Avenue (Brooklyn), Prospect Park West to the east, ...
.


Tenure

In April 2007, Clarke was the sole member of Congress to oppose a bill to rename the Ellis Island Library after British-born
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
, saying in a statement, "Bob Hope is a great American and a fantastic human being, utI see the museum and all aspects of the island to be greater than any one human being." On September 29, 2008, Clarke voted in support of HR 3997, the Emergency Economic Stability Act of 2008. The act failed, 205–228. She wrote legislation to improve the process of removing the names of individuals who believe they were wrongly identified as a threat when screened against the No Fly List used by the
Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within and connecting to the United States. It was created ...
, which passed 413–3 on February 3, 2009. In November 2009 she was one of 54 members of Congress to sign on to a controversial letter to President Obama, urging him to use diplomatic pressure to resolve the blockade affecting Gaza. On March 25, 2010, she introduced the International Cybercrime Reporting and Cooperation Act – H.R.4962. Clarke supported the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument Preservation Act (H.R. 1501; 113th Congress), a bill that would direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
as a unit of the National Park System (NPS). Clarke argued the bill was a good idea because "this monument commemorates not only the sacrifices of soldiers in the Revolutionary War who dedicated themselves to the cause of liberty, but a reminder that even in wartime we must protect basic human rights. These thousands of deaths were an atrocity that should never occur again." On September 17, 2013, Clarke introduced the Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act (H.R. 3107; 113th Congress), a bill that would require the
United States Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the Interior minister, interior, Home Secretary ...
(DHS) to undertake several actions designed to improve the readiness and capacity of DHS's cybersecurity workforce. DHS would also be required to create a strategy for recruiting and training additional cybersecurity employees.


Committee assignments

*
Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
** Subcommittee on Communications and Technology ** Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade ** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Ranking Member)


Caucus memberships

* Congressional Black Caucus, Chair * Congressional Caribbean Caucus, Chair * Congressional Caucus on Multicultural Media, Chair * Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, Co-chair * Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys, Co-chair * Congressional Progressive Caucus. * Congressional Arts Caucus * Medicare for All Caucus * Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment * Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans *
Creator Economy Caucus The Creator Economy Caucus, also called the Congressional Creators Caucus, is a bipartisan caucus of U.S. legislators whose members work to support online content creators. It was founded during the 119th Congress in June 2025 by Congressional ...
Co-Chair


Policy positions


Israel

Clarke has said she supports a two-state solution to the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict about Territory, land and self-determination within the territory of the former Mandatory Palestine. Key aspects of the conflict include the Israeli occupation ...
. Some of her stances have subjected her to public criticism by constituents in her district, which is roughly 20% Jewish according to 2010
Census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
estimates. In 2010, Clarke signed two petitions urging Obama to pressure Israel to resolve the Gaza Blockade, which she later retracted. In 2009, she voted against H.R. 867, which sought to condemn the controversial Goldstone Report commissioned by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. In 2015 Clarke indicated she would vote for the JCPOA, known as the Iran nuclear deal, despite appeals from some of her Jewish constituents and local advocacy groups to vote against it. Explaining her decision, Clarke said in a statement, "Iran is on the verge of creating a nuclear bomb, right now. The JCPOA provides a pathway that holds great potential to forever change this reality." In 2015, Clarke attended
Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviations, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the Israel, State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a President of Isra ...
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
's speech before a joint session of Congress after initially expressing uncertainty. She voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.


Abortion

Clarke has stated that she is
pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their ...
. She has earned high ratings from interest groups such as NARAL Pro-Choice America and
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization
for her votes against legislation to place restrictions on abortion rights, including the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act of 2011, which would have prohibited federal funds from being used to cover abortions. Her ratings with
anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...
organizations such as the
National Right to Life Committee The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide. Since the 1980s, NRLC has influenc ...
have been correspondingly low.


Budget, spending and tax issues

Clarke has consistently opposed legislation to reduce government spending and cut taxes, including voting against the Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act of 2012, which sought to extend tax cuts established during
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
's administration through the end of 2013. Clarke received a 92% rating from the '' National Journal'' for being liberal on economic policy in 2011, while she received a 15% rating from the National Taxpayers Union for her positions on tax and spending in 2011, and a 2% rating from the Citizens Against Government Waste in 2010. Clarke was among the 46 House Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.


Environmental policy

Clarke has supported efforts to combat climate change and limit fossil fuel consumption. She has generally opposed legislation that gives priority to economic over conservation interests, such as the Stop the War on Coal Act of 2012 and the Conservation and Economic Growth Act of 2012. She has supported legislation that increases conservation efforts and regulation of the energy industry, such as the Offshore Drilling Regulations and Other Energy Law Amendments Act of 2010. In 2011 Clarke received 100% ratings from Environment America, the
League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "builds political power for people and the planet." Through its affiliated super PAC, it is a major supporter of the Democratic Party. The org ...
, and the
Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...
, the latter on her clean water positions, while she received a 14% rating over the period 2008–2011 from the Global Exchange for her loyalty to the finance, insurance, and real estate lobbies. She was strongly critical of the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the
Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...
.


Immigration

Clarke has called for immigration reform that would create a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants living in the United States and direct resources away from
enforcement Enforcement is the proper execution of the process of ensuring compliance with laws, regulations, rules, standards, and social norms. Governments attempt to effectuate successful implementation of policies by enforcing laws and regulations. En ...
. In 2010, she voted for the DREAM Act, which passed the House but was blocked in the Senate. Clarke has voted against legislative proposals to constrain immigration. She praised the Obama administration's DACA program and condemned the Trump administration's termination of the program, calling it "cruel and vindictive". She has also called for extending the Temporary Protected Status granted to Haitian immigrants seeking refuge after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and for the abolition of ICE.


Syria

In 2023, Clarke was among 56 Democrats to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
to remove U.S. troops from
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
within 180 days.


Technology

On April 10, 2019, Clarke and Senators
Ron Wyden Ronald Lee Wyden ( ; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United States Senate special el ...
and
Cory Booker Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of the Democ ...
introduced the Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2019, legislation granting additional powers to the Federal Trade Commission in addition to forcing companies to study whether race, gender or other biases influence their technology. That June, Clarke also introduced H.R. 3230: Deepfakes Accountability Act into the 116th United States Congress. On January 11, 2022, Clarke and Representative Ritchie Torres sent a letter to Jen Easterly, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), requesting more information on efforts to reduce security risks to federal networks through the adoption of multi-factor authentication requirements. The letter argues that broad adoption of multi-factor-authentication is essential to protect the security of federal networks and systems. Clarke introduced H.R. 5586, an updated Deepfakes Accountability Act into the
118th United States Congress The 118th United States Congress was a meeting of the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House ...
on September 20, 2023, in a continuing effort to protect national security from deepfake technology threats, while providing legal recourse to victims of harmful deepfakes.


In the media

On the '' Colbert Report'', in its " Better Know a District" segment in early September 2012, when
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
asked Clarke what she would have changed in 1898, the year Brooklyn merged with New York City, if she could go back in time, Clarke answered the abolition of slavery. Colbert replied, "Slavery...Really? I didn't realize there was slavery in Brooklyn in 1898". (Slavery was abolished in New York State in 1827.) Clarke responded, "I'm pretty sure there was", saying the Dutch owned slaves in New York in 1898. The next day, Clarke was unavailable for comment, and her media representative stated the statements were meant in jest.


2016 presidential election

Clarke endorsed
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
for president in 2016 and cast a vote for her as a superdelegate at the
2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the maj ...
. During the 2016 campaign, Clarke appeared with Clinton at an event at
Medgar Evers College Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City, United States. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was established in 1970 in central Brooklyn. It is name ...
.


Political campaigns

In 2004, Clarke, then a member of the New York City Council, made her first run for Congress for the 11th district against incumbent Major Owens, for whom she had interned in college. Clarke's run followed an unsuccessful bid by her mother in 2000 against Owens for the same seat. Clarke lost the 2004 Democratic primary to Owens, who won 45.4% of the vote to her 28.9% in a multi-candidate race. After the 2004 election, Owens declined to seek reelection, after which Clarke announced her intention to run again in 2006. Owens later called Clarke and her mother's successive political campaigns against him " stab in the back".


2006

In May 2006, another Caribbean-American candidate, Assemblyman N. Nick Perry, withdrew from the race to succeed Owens, leading some observers to contend that Clarke's chances for winning the race would improve now that another candidate from the same community was no longer competing.


Election results

On September 12, 2006, Clarke won the Democratic nomination with a plurality, 31.20%, of the vote in a four-person primary, defeating then-councilman David Yassky, State Senator Carl Andrews, and Major Owens's son, Christopher Owens. In the November 7 general election, Clarke was elected to the House of Representatives with 89% of the vote against Republican nominee Stephen Finger.


2008

Clarke was reelected on November 4 by a large margin.


2010

Clarke was reelected on November 2 by a large margin.


2012

Clarke was challenged in the Democratic primary by Sylvia Kinard, an attorney and ex-wife of former New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Bill Thompson. Clarke defeated Kinard with 88.3% of the vote. She had $50,000 in her campaign account before the June primary. In the November general election, Clarke defeated Republican nominee Daniel Cavanagh.


2014

Clarke was reelected with 89.5% of the vote, defeating Cavanagh again.


2016

Clarke ran unopposed in the primary and defeated Alan Bellone in the November general election with 92.4% of the vote.


2018

On June 26, Clarke narrowly defeated primary challenger Adem Bunkeddeko with 51.9% of the vote. She defeated Republican nominee Lutchi Gayot in the November 6 general election.


2020

Clarke faced a four-way Democratic primary against Adem Bunkeddeko,
Chaim Deutsch Chaim M. Deutsch (born April 15, 1969) is an American politician who served as a New York City Council Member for the New York City's 48th City Council district, 48th district from 2014 to 2021. He is a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat. ...
, and former army veteran and Democratic Socialists of America member Isiah James.


See also

* List of African-American United States representatives * Women in the United States House of Representatives


References


External links


Congresswoman Yvette Clarke
official U.S. House website
Yvette Clarke for Congress
* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Yvette 1964 births 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century African-American women politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 21st-century New York (state) politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American New York City Council members African-American people in New York (state) politics American Methodists American people of Jamaican descent American United Methodists Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Edward R. Murrow High School alumni Female members of the United States House of Representatives Living people Methodists from New York (state) New York (state) Democrats New York City Council members People from Flatbush, Brooklyn Women New York City Council members