May 27, 2021 |
Kristen Clarke was confirmed as the first black woman to head the Department of Justice’s civil rights division. That confirmation came on the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, CNN reported.
Kristen Clarke
Clarke was confirmed by 51-48 votes, with Senator Susan Collins being the only Republican vote to vote in favor. She was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday evening.
“This is a historic moment because for the first time since its inception since the Civil Rights Act of 1957 came into effect, the confirmed assistant attorney general for civil rights will be a woman and a black woman, and that is Kristen Clarke,” said Harris spokesman Symone Sanders.
Clarke’s legal career began in the Justice Department. For the past five years, she has served as the president of the nonprofit Lawyers’ Committee on Social Justice. She previously served as an assistant to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
She holds degrees from Harvard University and Columbia University School of Law.
Clarke has been criticized by Republicans for her views on police reform.
“I don’t support defusing the police,” she said at the hearing on a question from Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin. “I support the search for strategies to ensure law enforcement agencies can do their jobs more safely and effectively, and to allocate resources to emotional health care and other areas of severely inadequate resources.”
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