Daughter of Jamaican immigrants, Kristin Clarke has been nominated by Joe Biden to the US DOJ.

Kristen Clarke

Kristen Clarke, daughter of Jamaican immigrants was nominated by President-elect, Joe Biden to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on January 7, 2021.

Kristen Clarke is an American lawyer who is President of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She previously headed the Civil Rights bureau of the New York Department of Law under Eric Schneiderman. In 2019 Clarke successfully represented Taylor Dumpson, the first Jamaican-American woman student body President of American University, in her landmark case against white supremacists. On January 6 Clarke was nominated to the position of United States Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under the Biden administration.

Clarke's parents immigrated to Brooklyn from Jamaica.^[1] She has

Kristen Clarke

said that she “grew up in a household that was about discipline, working hard in school and about making the most of every opportunity”.^[1] Clarke was a member of Prep for Prep, a non-profit organisation that looks to support students of colour in accessing private school education.^[2][3] She attended Choate Rosemary Hall, where she was the only girl to join the boy's wrestling squad.^[4] Clarke earned her bachelor's degree at Harvard University, where she was involved with initiatives to support and champion African-American students, and graduated in 1997.^[5] She moved to Columbia University for her graduate studies, where she completed a Juris Doctor in 2000.^[6] After graduating she worked as a trial attorney in the United States 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.

Kristen is expected to be approved by the US Senate after Biden is sworn in as the 46th President.