The United States Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) has elected Caribbean American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke as its first vice chair.
Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, was among top officials elected by CBC’s Executive Committee for the 118th US Congress.
Other top officials elected were: Congressman Steven Horsford, chairman; Congressman Troy Carter, second vice-chair; Congresswoman Lucy McBath, secretary; and Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland, Whip.
“It has been the honor of my career to serve as the 9th woman to chair the Congressional Black Caucus,” said CBC Chairwoman Joyce Beatty in a statement. “As the 117th Congress draws to a close, and I pass the baton to this dynamic group of dedicated leaders, I am confident our power and our message are in capable hands.”
Clarke – a senior member of both the US House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee and House Committee on Homeland Security, where she serves as chair of the Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation Subcommittee – thanked her CBC colleagues for their support, stating that she is “blessed” to be serving with them in the forthcoming 118th Session of Congress.
“Serving on the Executive Committee of the Congressional Black Caucus in the 118th Congress is more than a privilege but an obligation that I do not take lightly,” she told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). “Each new Congress presents an opportunity for our 60-member-strong caucus to advance legislation and policy to address the myriad of persistent inequities that continue to impact Black communities across our country.
“Before us, today, countless new dimensions to these historic challenges continue to confront Congress, and we, as a caucus, must remain vigilant if we are to overcome them,” she added. “I have no doubt the dynamic talent and capabilities of our new Executive Committee will drive this truly extraordinary and remarkable caucus towards unseen heights and untold possibilities, from within the US Congress and beyond, into the many beloved communities that are integral to the strengthening and growth of our nation.
“I have no doubt that our members will continue to build upon the success of our predecessors, support and uplift the causes so vital to the advancement of people of African-decent,” Clarke continued. “Much in our nation and our Congress has changed since the days of bold and audacious actions from the likes of Shirley Chisholm and Charlie Rangel when they, alongside 11 of their Congressional colleagues, established the Congressional Black Caucus. What has not changed and will forever endure is the mission of this caucus.”
Clarke, who has been a member of the US Congress since 2007, said that, for decades, the CBC has provided “a voice to the voiceless and a platform for the marginalized.
Since its establishment in 1971, the CBC said it has been “committed to using the full Constitutional power, statutory authority and financial resources of the federal government to ensure that African Americans and other marginalized communities in the United States have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.”
CMC/
