By Emily Wagster PettusThe Related Press
Former Rep. Alyce Clarke was the primary Black girl elected to the Mississippi legislature, and now she is the primary Black particular person — and first girl — to have a portrait on show within the state Capitol.
She smiled on Feb. 13 as fellow lawmakers, associates and supporters honored her throughout a ceremony to unveil the oil portray, which has a outstanding spot within the room the place the Home Training Committee meets.
Clarke, an 84-year-old Democrat from Jackson, served 39 years earlier than deciding to not search reelection in 2023.
“Thank God, I’ve had extra good days than I’ve had unhealthy days,” she stated throughout the ceremony. “And I’d similar to to thank all people who’s right here. I’d like to assist all people who’s helped me to get right here as a result of I did nothing on my own.”
Different portraits within the Mississippi capitol are of former governors and former Home audio system, who have been all White males. The artist, Ryan Mack, stated he based mostly the portrait on a photograph of Clarke from the mid-Nineteen Eighties.
“I’m a real believer and witness of the great she has completed,” Mack stated, citing her work on schooling and diet applications.
The primary Black man to win a seat within the Mississippi Legislature within the twentieth century was Robert Clark, no relation, a Democrat from Ebenezer who was elected to the Home in 1967. He retired in December 2003, and a state authorities constructing in downtown Jackson was named for him the next 12 months.
Alyce Clarke gained a March 1985 particular election, and one other Black girl, Democrat Alice Harden of Jackson, gained a seat within the Mississippi Senate two years later.
A number of different Black girls have since been elected to Mississippi’s 122-member Home and 52-member Senate, however girls stay a small minority in each chambers.
Clarke, early in her legislative profession, pushed to ascertain Born Free, a drug and alcohol therapy heart for pregnant girls. Within the Nineteen Nineties, she led an effort to ascertain Mississippi’s first drug courts, which give supervision, drug testing and therapy providers to assist maintain individuals out of jail.
She was instrumental in establishing a state lottery. Clarke filed lottery payments for 19 years earlier than legislators voted in 2018 to create a lottery to assist pay for highways. The Home and Senate named the laws the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Legislation. When lottery tickets went on sale in 2019, Clarke purchased the ceremonial first ticket at a Jackson comfort retailer.
Democratic Rep. Robert Johnson of Natchez stated on Feb. 13 that Clarke was persistent in looking for help for her alma mater, Alcorn State College. He recalled assembly with a legislative chief about college funding, and he knew Clarke would ask if he had advocated for the traditionally Black college.
“I opened the door and got here out, and who’s standing outdoors the door? Ms. Clarke,” Johnson stated. “I’m going to inform you: The town of Jackson, the drug courts, the lottery and Alcorn State College — no person had a greater champion than Alyce Clarke.”
This text was initially revealed by The Related Press.
