Vice President Kamala Harris, right, swears in newly-confirmed U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, left. (Photo via the vice president’s Instagram)
Lambda Legal today (Wednesday, May 26) praised the confirmation of Kristen Clarke as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the United States Department of Justice.
Lambda Legal’s Chief Strategy Officer Sharon McGowan, who is also legal director and formal principal deputy chief of the Appellate Section of the Civil Rights Division, said, “We celebrate the Senate’s confirmation of Kristen Clarke to lead the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Clarke’s long and unswerving commitment to advancing civil and human rights, as well as her own history with the division, made her eminently qualified for this critical role within the Justice Department.
“Her confirmation as the first Black woman to lead the Civil Rights Division is welcome and long overdue,” McGowan continued. “As we mark the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, we must continue to speak out about the fact that police violence continues to impact Black and other communities of color of which LGBTQ people are a part, and that the struggles for LGBTQ justice and racial justice are deeply intertwined.
“As a civil rights movement that traces our modern LGBTQ history to protests against police violence, we know how important it will be to have leaders in the DOJ committed to police accountability as part of a broader understanding of what LGBTQ equality looks like. Ms. Clarke has demonstrated her deep understanding of LGBTQ issues over the years, and Lambda Legal looks forward to working with her in her new role to promote equality and advance justice for the communities that we serve,” McGowan concluded.
— Tammye Nash
