On Wednesday, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) announced that she was elected to serve as the 29th Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). Clarke will be sworn in as Chair when the new session of Congress begins in January. She has been elected to a two-year term, allowing her to serve throughout the 119th Congress.
Clarke recently served as First Vice Chair during the 118th Congress, focusing on laws targeting disparities harming underserved communities by working alongside Caucus members on democracy and civic participation, education, environmental justice, the future of work, healthcare, housing, and public safety.
The Congresswoman issued the following statement after her election:
“I want to thank my peers for electing me as Chair. As Chair, I will ensure that our Caucus’ goals are accomplished by focusing on voting rights, education, criminal justice reform, women’s rights, healthcare equity, and economic equality.
We must be attentive in completing our purpose of addressing and enacting policy to uplift our community and keep our promises. Since its formation in 1971, the CBC has constantly pursued its mission of supporting and enforcing laws that protect and enrich the Black community.
The CBC will have a record 62 members in both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives during the 119th Congress. And for the first time in history, two Black women will serve together in the Senate — elevating our position in Congress to combat blatant racism and policies intentionally overlooking more diverse and minority communities — proving our diversity is our strength, and our unity is our power,” said Chairwoman Clarke.
“In our pursuit to push legislation and funding — seeking bipartisanship in issue areas that would benefit African Americans — we must become more aggressive in our attempt to support Rep. Hakeem Jeffries as Minority Leader of the House. We must stand behind his vision and trust his leadership to negotiate the best outcomes for our communities.
“Make no mistake: in this volatile political landscape, the CBC must stand as the resistance to the extremist ideologies of Project 2025 as the conscience of Congress to advocate and advance the Black diaspora.
The authors of Project 2025 will write America’s story for the next four years, and we must be prepared to use every legislative and communicative tool to oppose their agenda. I am committed to working with my colleagues to call out this extremist agenda and fight like hell for a pathway forward.”