PREP 9 Alumna Kristen Clarke (P9 II) Makes U.S. History in Her Appointment to the DOJ Civil Rights Division

Four months after her Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Kristen Clarke (P9 II) was sworn in as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. She is the first Black woman to be Senate-confirmed for this role.
On the evening of May 25, history was made. With her mother holding the Bible and Vice President Kamala Harris reciting the oath of office, Kristen Clarke was sworn in as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. Senator Dick Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee, said that Kristen’s “breadth of experience defending the civil rights of all” made her “singularly qualified to lead this division, particularly at this moment in history,” according to a recent New York Times article. Her confirmation is the result of the many years she’s committed to protecting and pushing civil rights forward. 

Kristen began her career at the Department of Justice, and earlier this year described the nomination as a homecoming. Throughout her career, Kristen has tackled inequality in housing, criminal justice, education access, and voting rights. Most recently, she served as the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Kristen is an alum of the PREP 9 program and attended Choate Rosemary Hall. She holds an A.B. from Harvard University and earned her J.D. from Columbia University in 2000. You can read more about Kristen’s work in our previous article covering her nomination in January. 

Kristen was confirmed on the one year anniversary of George Floyd’s death; a tragedy that sparked demonstrations across the U.S. That Kristen is the first Black woman to helm the DOJ’s Civil Rights division is cause for celebration and sober reflection. While this path has not been easy, members of the Prep community like Kristen will make these paths more accessible for generations that follow.
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