David A. Clarke

David Allen Clarke was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 13, 1943, to Allen Joseph Clarke and Ophia Carroll Clarke.[1] His father died while he was an infant; he moved with his mother to Southwest Washington when he was 2.[1]

Clarke's mother worked as a clerk at the United States Department of Agriculture.[5] They later moved to the neighborhood of Shaw.[1] Clarke attended public schools, namely Thompson Elementary School, Jefferson Junior High, and Western High School.[1] Clarke's mother died of tuberculosis when Clarke was 16 years old, and he moved in with his aunt, who was also living in Shaw.[1]

Clarke earned a Bachelor of Arts in religion from George Washington University in 1965.[1][6] He then enrolled at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, but, wanting to take a more direct role in the Civil Rights Movement, after two weeks he transferred to the nearby Upland Institute for Social Change and Conflict Management.[1][7] Upland then sent him back to Washington to work for Walter E. Fauntroy at the recently formed D.C. Coalition for Conscience.[1][7]

When Greater Washington Board of Trade opposed home rule for the District, Clarke protested next to the Washington Monument on July 4, 1966. When Clarke began reading the United States Declaration of Independence, he was arrested.[1][7]

Clarke decided to pursue a Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law.[5] While a student, Clarke was a research assistant for his mentor Frank D. Reeves and clerked at the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense Fund,[8][9] including arranging legal assistance for demonstrators participating in the Poor People's Campaign, particularly the Resurrection City encampment on the Mall.[7][1]

After finishing law school, he worked briefly for the U.S. Senate Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs,[8] and then became Director of the Washington Bureau of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.[1][3] In 1972, two years before Home Rule, Clarke opened a private law practice.[7] In 1974, David Clarke was elected as the Ward One Representative on the first Council of the District of Columbia elected by District of Columbia voters—of the 13 members of the first council, only two had law degrees and “Dave was the only attorney that won in that whole election. Everybody else was a community activist.”[8] (Arrington Dixon had a law degree but never practiced.[10])

During his eight years as the representative of Ward One, he chaired Council's Judiciary Committee, was a member of the Council's Housing and Finance committee, and chaired the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments's Public Safety Committee,[11] where he was a proponent of gun control.

After two terms representing Ward 1, Clarke was elected Chair (a separate seat, elected at-large) in 1982. He served as Chair of Council for eight more years, then ran for Mayor in 1990[3]--the only election he ever lost. As Chair of Council he had helped create the DC School of Law, and after leaving Council he co-founded a Legislation Clinic—a legal clinic focused on "legislative and regulatory advocacy"[12]—at the School, serving as co-director for several years.[4] In 1993 he ran for Chair again in the special election following the death of John A Wilson, and remained Chair until his own death. During his return to the Chairmanship, the School of Law was merged with the University of the District of Columbia, and after his death the School was renamed the David A. Clarke School of Law in his honor.[4]

While on the Council, he was known for an ability to transcend race, a legacy from his experience as an activist and important in a racially divided district.[2][13][14] His aggressive style at times made consensus-building difficult.[2][7][8][15][16]

Clarke died of a central nervous system lymphoma, a form of brain cancer.[17][2] He was survived by his wife, a city schoolteacher, and one son.[3]

• Appearances on C-SPAN