Higher Heights Statement on Senate Confirmation of Kristen Clarke and Chiquita Brooks-LaSure

NEW YORK — Today, Glynda C. Carr, the President and CEO of Higher Heights for America — the only national organization exclusively dedicated to harnessing Black women’s political power from the voting booth to elected office — issued the following statement on Kristen Clarke’s confirmation as Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and on Chiquita Brooks-LaSure’s confirmation as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services:

“We congratulate Kristen Clarke on her historic confirmation to lead the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice as Assistant Attorney General. For years, Clarke has worked to defend our nation’s most marginalized communities against discrimination in our elections and the criminal legal system. As the first Black woman to ever fill the position, she brings a critical perspective to the Department’s leadership, where she will champion issues that disproportionately affect Black women, including voting access, criminal justice reform and discrimination, especially in the wake of white supremacist attacks and rising hate crimes that continue to unfold across our nation. 

“As the President of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and a former trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division, Clarke brings unparalleled inside experience and qualifications to her new role and its challenges. Her presence in the Department will help guide our country closer to the ideals of social and racial equity, and we look forward to supporting her as she works to dismantle structural barriers in our electoral and legal systems.” 

“We also congratulate Chiquita Brooks-LaSure on her historic confirmation as the first Black administrator to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. With her past experience working to expand health care as a senior official under President Barack Obama, Brooks-LaSure will build on her past work supporting marginalized communities across our nation in one of the most powerful positions in the Department of Health and Human Services. Amid a pandemic with disproportionate, devastating impacts on Black women and their communities, her confirmation will bring us closer to health care equity for all.”