Amid much fanfare, Caribbean-American Democratic U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke on Saturday, April 11, launched her campaign for reelection in the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn.

The largely Caribbean district includes neighborhoods such as Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Kensington, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens.
The primary election is June 23, and early voting is June 13 to 21.

The kickoff at Clarke’s headquarters on Nostrand Avenue, near Maple Street in Central Brooklyn, united supporters, community leaders, and district residents.
“I’m so grateful to be with you today, right here in the heart of the community that raised me,” said Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). “My parents came here looking for opportunity and built a life in Flatbush, a home I still live in today.

“Growing up, I learned that if you want change, you have to fight for it,” she added. “And here in Brooklyn, we know legacy and community matter. Our history and our future are what keep our neighborhoods strong. From Flatbush to Midwood, it’s our roots and our commitment to protecting families that hold us together. But everywhere I go, I hear the same thing: people are doing everything right, and they’re still falling behind.

Clarke blamed national leadership, saying, “Donald Trump and his administration have wreaked havoc on our communities. They’ve created chaos at a time when people are already carrying heavy burdens. Affordability, gas prices, and making ends meet are straining the fabric of our economy.”
She pointed to economic concerns: “At the same time, the American people have seen one of the largest wealth transfers in the country’s history.”

She outlined the consequences: “Tax breaks for the wealthy, while cutting healthcare, food assistance, housing, and more; tariffs driving up everyday costs; we’re seeing fear in our communities. Families targeted, neighbors worried about their safety.”

Highlighting more challenges, Clarke said, “And while people are already struggling to afford rent, groceries, and gas, this president has chosen to engage in an unnecessary war. We’re talking about a war costing over $1 billion a day. At the same time, he’s asking Congress for a $1.5 trillion defense budget, a 42 percent increase from last year.”

She detailed further, “And to help pay for it, here’s just some of what he plans to cut: $10.7 billion for housing, $8.5 billion for K-12 programs, $2.5 billion for clean drinking water, and $5 billion from the National Institutes of Health. And again, we’re talking about a president who threatened to obliterate an entire civilization (referring to Iran).”

Reflecting on the moment, Clarke said, “We are living through trying times. The very fabric of what our ancestors, our aunties, our grandmothers, and our fathers fought for is at stake.”

But she said, “We are not going to back down. I haven’t backed down in Congress. I’ve spent my career fighting to expand opportunity and deliver results. And, as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, we are working every single day to protect our communities.”
Clarke said “proven fighters” are currently needed in Congress.

“That’s why I am proud to announce my candidacy for reelection to represent New York’s 9th Congressional District, because the stakes could not be higher, and my determination for this community could not be stronger,” she said. “We have to fight like our lives depend on it. Act like our nation’s future is on the line. Vote, as our livelihoods depend on it, because they do.

She asked the crowd, “So, Brooklyn, are you with me? Are we ready to fight back? Because our community is counting on us, and the soul of this nation is on the line, let’s get out there. When we fight, we win.”

Clarke noted her work in Congress: she co-chairs the Congressional Caribbean Caucus and works to foster U.S.–Caribbean relationships, stating, “I take my passion for my Caribbean heritage to Congress.”
Clarke is a senior member of the US House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee, and has been a CBC member since coming to Congress in 2007.

As the representative of the 9th  Congressional District, Clarke said she has dedicated herself to continuing the “legacy of excellence” established by the late U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the daughter of Barbadian and Guyanese immigrants, and the first Black woman and Caribbean American elected to Congress.

In the 118th Congress, Clarke introduced landmark legislation to advance the priorities she said are closest to her heart and at the top of her constituents’ minds.
She said she has led critical legislation to support women’s health, including the Menopause Research Equity Act, the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid and Education Act, and the Uterine Cancer Study Act.

As a trailblazing leader guiding Congressional efforts to enact meaningful policy in the Age of AI, she also introduced first-of-its-kind legislation to stop the spread of malicious deepfakes with her DEEPFAKES Accountability Act and increase transparency surrounding political AI-generated advertisements with her REAL Political Ads Act.

U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, (sixth from left) with supporters at the launch of her re-election campaign.Photo by Nelson A. King

The congresswoman said she consistently stands against the rising tide of mis- and disinformation in media spaces, and is committed to ensuring Americans nationwide have access to reliable, trusted information.
Clarke is a leader in the tech and media policy space, serving as co-chair of the Smart Cities Caucus and the Multicultural Media Caucus.

She said she believes smart technology will make communities more “sustainable, resilient, and livable,” and that she works hard to ensure communities of color are not left behind as these technological advancements are made.

Clarke said she formed the Multicultural Media Caucus to address diversity and inclusion issues in the media, telecom, and tech industries.
As a driving force in Congress to preserve and expand the Affordable Connectivity Program, a vital initiative that provides reliable, affordable broadband to Americans nationwide, Clarke said she understands that internet access is essential in a modern nation and will help bridge the digital divide.
She 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.

Clarke is also the co-chair of the Medicare for All Caucus, where she said she fights for the right to universal health care.
Before being elected to the House of Representatives, Clarke served on New York City’s City Council, representing the 40th District.

She succeeded her pioneering mother, former New York City Council Member Dr. Una S. T. Clarke, making them the first mother-daughter duo to succeed in the City Council’s history.

Clarke cosponsored City Council resolutions that opposed the war in Iraq, criticized the federal USA PATRIOT Act, and called for a national moratorium on the death penalty.

U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke, right, with Community Activists Ernest Skinner, left, and Joan Bakiriddin.Photo by Nelson A. King

She is a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio and was a recipient of the prestigious APPAM/Sloan Fellowship in Public Policy and Policy Analysis.
Clarke received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, from the University of Technology, Jamaica, and the honorary doctorate in public policy from the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean.
She, who currently resides in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, where she grew up, is a “proud active member of the Brooklyn Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

On Thursday, Clarke and the CBC amplified their call for a conference in the House to improve the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644).
Clarke said that, for years, CBC members have led the charge in addressing the housing crisis.

“The actions and decisions made thus far by the Trump administration have added further pressure to the already severe shortage of affordable housing options across the country,” she said, stating that the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act offers “an opportunity to achieve a largely bipartisan solution to the affordable housing challenges impacting families nationwide.

“However, it is critical that, as lawmakers, we conduct due diligence to ensure that H.R. 6644 is equipped with all the necessary tools to alleviate housing costs for hardworking Americans,” Clarke said.

She said Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, has requested a conference to improve and strengthen H.R. 6644 due to the Senate version’s omission of key provisions — namely, provisions that would broaden access to homeownership, expedite the construction of manufactured housing, expand the availability of small-dollar mortgages, better protect borrowers and families living in public or assisted housing, enhance federal oversight of housing providers, and lay the groundwork for the development of new affordable homes across America.

Clarke said U.S. Rep. Waters and U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, led the House of Representatives in securing these provisions, “which were pivotal to its overwhelmingly bipartisan passage and widely supported by advocacy organizations within the housing community.

“It is absolutely imperative that the House and Senate conference on this legislation to restore these critical provisions,” she said. “Any legislation that fails to do so is not in service to the communities we are elected to represent.

“It is our responsibility to ensure that families across America receive the support they need to address the growing housing affordability crisis,” she added. “The CBC is demanding that both chambers return to conference, reconcile the House and Senate versions, and produce the strongest possible housing legislation for communities across the nation.”