[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 118 (Monday, July 20, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E703]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





    HONORING THE LIFE OF MINNESOTA STATE REPRESENTATIVE KAREN CLARK

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 20, 2026

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of an 
extraordinary public servant, pioneering legislator, and tireless 
champion for equality, former Minnesota State Representative Karen 
Clark. Karen passed away on June 30, 2026, at the age of 80, following 
a brief illness. She is survived by her wife, Jacquelyn Zita, and by 
countless friends, former colleagues, and Minnesotans whose lives were 
changed by her decades of service and advocacy.
  First elected to the Minnesota Legislature in 1980, Representative 
Clark went on to represent south Minneapolis for 19 terms. At the time 
of her election, she became the first openly lesbian state legislator 
in the United States, helping to pave the way for generations of LGBTQ+ 
leaders to follow. Even before entering public office, Karen had 
dedicated her life to serving others as a public health nurse and OB/
GYN nurse practitioner with the Hennepin County Health Department. She 
earned her nursing degree from the College of St. Teresa in Winona and 
later earned a Master of Public Administration from Harvard 
University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
  Throughout her career, Karen believed that public service was about 
expanding opportunity, protecting dignity, and ensuring that every 
Minnesotan had the chance to thrive. Karen worked tirelessly to 
strengthen protections and opportunities for LGBTQ+ Minnesotans, but 
her sense of justice was expansive. She championed environmental 
justice, affordable housing, economic opportunity, public health, and 
strived to lift marginalized voices from all walks of life. Her 
trailblazing leadership earned national recognition in 2013, when 
President Barack Obama honored her as a Harvey Milk Champion of Change 
in recognition of her decades of advocacy and public service.
  It was an honor to call Karen Clark a friend, a colleague, and a 
mentor. When I was first elected to the Minnesota House, our offices 
were next door to each other, and we shared a fantastic Legislative 
Assistant. Together, we worked to pass landmark amendments adding 
sexual orientation protections to Minnesota's Human Rights Act, and in 
2013 she authored the legislation that made Minnesota the 12th state to 
legalize marriage equality.
  Karen was a constant, vocal champion for social justice, economic 
opportunity, environmental sustainability, and human rights--and she 
carried that fight with openness, kindness, and courage for nearly four 
decades in office, always working hardest for the people who needed it 
most.
  Karen has been an inspiration to me, and her legacy lives on in every 
Minnesotan whose life she made freer and safer.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in celebrating the remarkable life, 
dedicated service, and enduring legacy of former Minnesota legislator 
Karen Clark.

                          ____________________