Congresswoman Yvette Clarke To Deliver Message Of Hope As Medgar Evers Class of 2026 Commencement Speaker
(Photo courtesy of the Office of Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke)
On Friday, May 29, the CUNY Medgar Evers College Class of 2026 will welcome the Hon. Yvette D. Clarke as this year’s commencement speaker. The current chair of the Congressional Black Caucus is a longtime friend of the school whose relationship with this Central Brooklyn beacon of higher education dates back to the founding of the school when her mother, former New York City Councilwoman Una S.T. Clarke, was a local early childhood/daycare professional and grassroots political activist.
“I was a child at the time, but there was a lot of community activity led by Assemblyman Al Vann,” Congresswoman Clarke said. “My mother was involved in that sort of community organizing work and political engagement. In those days it wasn’t easy to find childcare, so I was at those meetings with her. The community was really adamant about establishing at that point, a college for the Black community. At that point, Central Brooklyn was a predominantly Black area of Brooklyn and there wasn’t really an entry level institution in CUNY that met the dreams and aspirations of higher education in Central Brooklyn.”
Clarke the younger is in the midst of an impressive legacy that goes from her having been one-half of the first mother-daughter succession in New York City Council History to being elected to Congress in 2007 and continuing the groundbreaking work started by the late Honorable Shirley Chisolm as Representative of the Ninth Congressional District of New York. A fierce advocate for her borough, the Flatbush resident is a co-chair of the Congressional Caribbean Caucus and works to foster relationships between the United States and the Caribbean community. Leaning into the adage that all politics are local. Clarke is equally committed to Medgar Evers College and the role it plays for the Crown Heights community and beyond.
“Part of what makes Medgar Evers Collage so special and unique is that it’s a portal to higher education for a lot of folks who have that desire, but don’t necessarily know how to engage with the process of gaining a degree,” Clarke explained. “Right there, on Bedford Avenue, students can access a doorway that will help them pursue their dreams. It helps those who may be in the workforce currently and need to upgrade their skills or obtain a professional degree. It makes it possible for those who have dreams of graduate school education to complete their undergraduate work and then go on to higher education.”
She added, “It’s a beacon for high school students to know that college is obtainable just by its vision in the community. And so, it’s really a prized institution for communities, that to a large extent, might be immigrants or the first to attend college in their families. The name of the school—Medgar Evers College—is a signal to those who have been marginalized in society and that this is the welcoming place for them.”
Clarke’s work on Capitol Hill reflects a commitment to public service that is a direct connection to her constituents. As co-chair of the Medicare for All Caucus, she is an unabashed advocate around the issue of universal health care for all. Beyond that, she has led critical legislation to support the health of women, including the Menopause Research Equity Act, the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid and Education Act, and the Uterine Cancer Study Act. Beyond that, Clarke is also one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, which develops programs to support the aspirations of Black women of all ages. That kind of advocacy is a large part of what she’s witnessed from those who have come out of the Medgar Evers College family.
“There are so many examples of next-generation leadership embracing the legacy of the community that established Medgar Evers College,” Clarke said. “I think of former Assemblywoman Diana Richards, who was a graduate of Medgar Evers College. If it wasn’t for elected officials like Assemblyman Al Vann and his tenacity, the four-year status of Medgar Evers College would not have been obtained. I’ve seen it all unfold first-hand and I have a reverence for the work to make it possible.”
With a lifetime of public service under her belt, Clarke has high hopes for this year’s batch of Medgar Evers College graduates. Regardless of the uncertainty and fast-paced nature of the daily news cycle, the congresswoman will be conveying a message of optimism when the Class of 2026 crosses the stage to collect their degrees.
“My hope is to inspire pride in their accomplishments,” Clarke said. “To charge them with the responsibility to enrich not only their family, but the communities from whence they’ve hailed. And to go out in this new era of technology and challenge and confront those challenges with the knowledge they’ve obtained to really be transformative in all their future endeavors.”