2026 presents a unique opportunity for Black people. With the playing field leveled, the last remaining battles that Blacks will face going forward will be the fight for equality in the courtroom.
Kristen Clarke has been a champion of legal rights for people since she became an attorney. Hailing from New York, the Columbia Law graduate chose civil rights as her path. Clarke, being a second-generation immigrant, understands how the law can be a powerful tool when used the right way.
“I am a daughter of immigrants; I grew up in Brooklyn and know how important the law is.” Clarke continued, “I have always felt like my purpose on this earth was to use my talents to give back, and I feel really blessed that every minute that I have spent as an attorney has been serving our people and serving the public.”
Clarke served as the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the United States Department of Justice from 2021 to 2025. She previously served as president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She also managed the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office under Eric Schneiderman.
In 2021, President-elect Joe Biden selected Clarke to head the US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. The US Senate confirmed her nomination on May 25, 2021, by a vote of 51 to 48. Clarke made history as the first woman confirmed to lead the Civil Rights Division.
In March 2026, Clarke was appointed as general counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University, where she was president of the Black Students Association. In 1996, only 11 percent of juniors and seniors at the college were Black, while 25 percent of juniors and seniors living in quad houses were Black, according to a student-produced report.
Clarke graduated from Harvard in 1997, then earned a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 2000. After graduating, she worked as a trial attorney in the US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. In this capacity, she served as a federal prosecutor and worked on voting rights, hate crimes, and human trafficking cases.
“I enjoy serving the public, standing up for the voiceless, standing up for the marginalized, and really figuring out how we can use the law and legal advocacy as a tool to promote justice and fight for racial justice,” Clarke said.
Her mission is on point because the courtroom will prove to be pivotal for Blacks to keep and even gain some of the positions that impact the interest of the community as a whole.
With the end of DEI and civil rights, Black empowerment is under attack at the federal level. If the race continues to advance, it will have to understand what is at stake and then have the bandwidth to win those battles in courtrooms across America.
That’s what intrigued Clarke about the general counsel position with the NAACP. She is true to her word. She has argued and won some incredible cases in her time as an attorney.
In 2015, Clarke was appointed president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. One of her first roles was leading Election Protection, a voter protection coalition. The New York Times described her as “one of the nation’s foremost advocates for voting rights protections.”
In 2019, Clarke represented Taylor Dumpson, the first African American woman student body president of American University, in her lawsuit against avowed neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin, who initiated a racist “troll storm” against her, making her fear for her life and disrupting her ability to pursue her education. Clarke successfully fought for the US District Court for the District of Columbia to recognize that hateful online trolling can interfere with access to public accommodation, as well as securing damages and a restraining order.
Clarke handled the legal argument in district court in Shelby County v. Holder. In 2020, she testified before Congress about barriers to the vote. She has advocated for passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. She sued the US Postal Service during the pandemic because of delays with ballots.
After John Lewis died, she called for honoring his life by passage of a bill to restore the Voting Rights Act. She appeared with Stacey Abrams in the 2020 documentary All In: The Fight for Democracy. In November 2020, LeBron James thanked her for supporting the work of his organization More Than a Vote.
Her work with the NAACP will allow her to focus on the nation and have an impact where Blacks are struggling to get equal justice. An incredible attorney fighting for everyone is just what Black America needs.
