[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 56 (Thursday, March 27, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE LATE ROBERT GEORGE CLARK, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 27, 2025

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a 
trailblazer, the Honorable Robert George Clark, Jr. He dedicated his 
life to demonstrating what can be achieved through hard work, 
perseverance, and a strong desire for change.
  Robert George Clark, Jr. was elected to the Mississippi House of 
Representatives in 1967, becoming the first African American to serve 
in the Mississippi State Legislature since the Reconstruction era. He 
remained in office until 2003, leaving behind a legacy of leadership 
and progress.
  Clark was born on October 3, 1928, to the late Mr. Robert and Mrs. 
Julia Anne Clark of Ebenezer, Mississippi, as the youngest of three 
children. He attended Holmes County Training School in Durant, 
Mississippi, and later earned his B.A. from Jackson State University in 
1952. In 1959, he obtained a Master's Degree in Administration and 
Educational Services from Michigan State University. In 1979, while 
serving in the Mississippi State Legislature, Clark further honed his 
expertise as a teaching fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of 
Government at Harvard University.
  After earning his B.A. degree, Clark worked as a teacher in Holmes 
County. His first experience in politics came in 1966 when he ran for 
and won an elected board position with the Holmes County Community 
Action Program (CAP). The following year, he ran for state legislator 
on Holmes County's Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) ticket. 
His victory made history, as he became the first Black person elected 
to the Mississippi House of Representatives since Reconstruction.
  Clark's election signaled the emergence of Black electoral politics 
in Mississippi. As late as 1964, only ten Black people were registered 
to vote in Holmes County, despite African Americans comprising roughly 
75 percent of the population. By 1967, however, the Black community had 
built one of the strongest and most sophisticated political 
organizations in the state.
  Ten years after his historic election, Clark became the first Black 
committee chairman in the Mississippi House of Representatives when he 
was appointed to lead the Education Committee. Under his leadership, 
the legislature passed landmark education reforms, including the 1982 
Education Reform Act and the 1984 Vocational Education Reform Act. The 
1982 act significantly improved Mississippi's educational system by 
modernizing classrooms and other facilities, replacing outdated 
textbooks, and securing new school buses.
  In January 1992, Clark was elected Speaker Pro Tempore, a position he 
held until 2000. By the time he retired from the Mississippi House of 
Representatives in December 2003, he was the longest-serving member in 
continuous House service. I stand on the shoulders of men like him, 
drawing inspiration from his tireless efforts to make Mississippi a 
better place for all its citizens.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the late 
Robert George Clark, Jr. for his unwavering dedication to civil rights 
and racial equality.

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