Alyce Griffin Clarke (born July 3, 1939) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, she is a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the 69th district, being first elected in 1984.

Early life

Clarke was born on July 3, 1939, in

Yazoo City, Mississippi Yazoo City is a U.S. city in Yazoo County, Mississippi. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river' ...

. She received a bachelor's degree from Alcorn State University and a master's degree from

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

. She also attended

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...

and

Mississippi College Mississippi College (MC) is a private Baptist university in Clinton, Mississippi. Founded in 1826, MC is the second-oldest Baptist-affiliated college or university in the United States and the oldest college or university in Mississippi. Histor ...

. Prior running for office, Clarke worked in education, teaching

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...

. She also worked as a nutritionist at a community health center in

Hinds County Hinds County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. With its county seats ( Raymond and the state's capital, Jackson), Hinds is the most populous county in Mississippi with a 2020 census population of 227,742 residents. Hinds Cou ...

.The Political Lives of Mississippi Women, in Black and White
by Ellen Ann Fentress; at Bitter Southerner; retrieved November 1, 2018 She married L.W. Clarke Jr and they had one child, Demarquis Johntrell.

Political career

Clarke was first elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives for the 69th district in 1984. She was the first black woman elected to the Mississippi Legislature. She worked on bringing the federal Women, Infants and Children food program to the state, setting up drug courts and organizing school breakfasts. In the 1990s, she founded a short-lived "biracial, bipartisan" Women's Caucus in the Mississippi House. She is set to retire at the

2023 Mississippi elections The 2023 Mississippi elections took place on November 7, 2023, with the primary on August 8 and any required runoffs on August 29. All executive offices in the state up for election, as well as all 52 seats of the Mississippi State Senate, all 1 ...

in November.

Personal life

In 1981, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

References

1939 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives People from Yazoo City, Mississippi People with multiple sclerosis African-American state legislators in Mississippi 21st-century American politicians American educators 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people {{Mississippi-politician-stub