David A Clarke

Early life and education

David Allen Clarke was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 13, 1943, to Allen Joseph Clarke and Ophia Carroll Clarke. After his father died while he was an infant, his mother and he moved to Southwest, Washington, D.C.

Clarke's mother worked as a clerk at the United States Department of Agriculture. They later moved to the neighborhood of Shaw. Clarke attended public schools, namely Thompson Elementary School, Jefferson Junior High, and Western High School. 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.

Clarke earned a Bachelor of Arts in religion from George Washington University in 1965. He then enrolled at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, but he longed to take a more direct role in the vast social changes that were sweeping the country. Two weeks later, Clarke transferred to the nearby Upland Institute for Social Change and Conflict Management. At Clarke's instance, Upland Institute sent him to work for Walter E. Fauntroy at the recently formed D.C. Coalition for Conscience.

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.

Clarke decided to pursue a Juris Doctor from Howard University School of Law. Clarke arranged for legal assistance for protesters who participated in the Poor People's Campaign, a protest encampment on the Mall that lasted for five rainy weeks in the spring of 1968. Clarke also ran the Washington office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was founded by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Clarke graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1969, and he opened a private practice the following year.

Career

Before his service on Council of the District of Columbia, he was counsel and Director of the Washington Bureau of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was legal assistant to the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense Fund. He also served as a program evaluator for the U.S. Senate Committee on Nutrition. In 1974, David Clarke was elected as the Ward One Representative on the Council of the District of Columbia- first Council elected by District of Columbia voters. During his eight years as the representative of Ward One, he was chairperson of the Judiciary Committee, a member of the Council’s Housing and Finance committee, and chairperson of the Public Safety Committee of the Metropolitan Council of Governments, where he was a proponent of gun control. He and his wife, a city schoolteacher, had one son.

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. His aggressive style at times made consensus-building difficult.

Clarke died of a central nervous system lymphoma, a form of brain cancer.

Timeline

Awards and legacy

Clarke received numerous awards for his community service initiatives including Outstanding Alumnus Award, Greater Washington Howard University Law School Alumni Association, Achievement Award, Elks Department of Civil Liberties League # 194, Human Rights Award, Ancient Independent Order of Moses, and the Washington Inner City Self-Help, Outstanding Service to Community Award. The University of the District of Columbia's Law School also bears his name: "The UDC David A. Clarke School of Law."