By Gail H.M. Brown, Ph.D.,
Contributing Writer,
Many are still buzzing about “A Night of Jubilee” held Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, in honor of the retired history-making Rep. Alyce Griffin Clarke after 38 hard-working years of legislative service.
Presented by the Connecting The Dots Foundation, Inc., the stellar 6:30 p.m. event was held in the downtown Jackson Convention Complex. Family, friends, colleagues, constituents and others from around the state, and beyond, gathered to celebrate the retirement of the lady who grew up in a small Mississippi community called Deovolente.
Just where is Deovolente? “It is French,” Clarke told The Mississippi Link during an interview from her home, Tuesday, Jan. 30. “It is located seven miles north of Belzoni, Miss. I was raised there but I was actually born in Yazoo City. There were no midwifes near my community.”
Marilyn Luckett, founder of Connecting the Dots Foundation, said, “I am delighted, thrilled and joyful about the outcome.”
“I am a lover of Historic Preservation,” Luckett continued. “When Rep. Clarke shared with me that she was planning to retire, my immediate thought was how can we preserve a permanent place in history for her that our children, grandchildren and community could visit for decades to come?”
She had visited the Capitol and noticed that there were no portraits of women on the wall. “I couldn’t think of a more deserving, a more beautiful woman than Rep. Alyce Griffin Clarke to hang on the wall of the Capitol,” she said. “Then I asked myself, why stop there? A bust in a museum would be another way to remember her. Planning her celebration was a labor of love.”
Clarke was asked about her feelings on the foundation’s and its sponsors’ ‘labor of love.’ She said, “I am still just quite honored. I just couldn’t believe it. I had no idea all of that was being done just for me.”
The event, emceed by WLBT’s legendary news anchor Maggie Wade and veteran newscaster Walt Grayson of WJTV-12, included key individuals who were called to the stage to offer reflections and congratulatory remarks.
Several videotaped presentations were also shown. Among them was one from her son Demarquis Johntrell Clarke from the East Coast who expressed his love, admiration and how proud he is of her.
Other videotaped salutes were shown from U.S. House of Representative Bennie Thompson in Washington, D.C.; former Gov. Ray Mabus and others.
Organizers themed the celebration: “May the works I’ve done speak for me.” Many said what a befitting theme. Her works, they say, have spoken loudly across the years.
For those who remotely possible have not heard of this Mississippian, she said, “I am just someone who did whatever my constituents said I needed to do for them; that’s what I tried to do. I always thought that was the only way to serve.”
With degrees in home economics from Alcorn State University and Tuskegee University, Clarke made history as the first African-American female elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1985. According to her biography, there were three other women in the legislature when she arrived. Two of whom had majored in home economics as well. “However, being the only woman of color didn’t create any camaraderie,” she said. She remembers serving for a lengthy period of time before learning that the White female representatives had a special bathroom for their use…never bothering to tell their lone African-American female colleague.
During her tenure, Clarke arose above such racial challenges. Focused on serving all the people of Mississippi and especially her constituents in District 69 of Hinds County, she chaired the Ethics Committee (2008-2012), the PEER Committee (1995-1996), and the State Library Committee (2000-2004). She also served as vice chair of the Drug Policy Committee, Education Committee, Interstate Cooperation Committee and the Ways and Means Committee.
She introduced more than 1,500 bills. Several of which she is widely known for through her sometimes-difficult bipartisan efforts. They include the 1986 BornFree Act; creation of the Mississippi International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma program; the Alyce G. Clarke Drug Court Act; the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law; and the creation of Mississippi first pediatric palliative care center. According to her biography, the palliative center will be named the Alyce G. Clarke Center for Medically Fragile Children.
Speaking of the Mississippi Lottery, Clarke fought for it for 19 years before it finally passed in 2018. She said she saw in other states where the lottery was helping with transportation, education and other needed improvements, so why not Mississippi. Today, as the longest-serving woman in the Mississippi Legislature, Rep. Clarke is affectionately referred to as “The Queen of the Capitol” and “The Mother of the Lottery.”
The Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law has been “a big winner” for Mississippi. According to information from the Mississippi Lottery Corporation, “Now, approaching five years of sales November 2024, the MLC has surpassed the $2 billion mark in gross sales. Since inception, the MLC has returned more than half-a-billion dollars to the State of Mississippi for roads, bridges and education since sales began Nov. 25, 2019. Direct beneficiaries include more than $377 million to the Highway Fund and more than $142 million to the Education Enhancement Fund.” To view the published financial reports of the Mississippi Lottery Corporation, visit: https://www.mslottery.com/media/reports/
Friday’s celebration for the retired Lady Statesperson did not end with the jubilee. She was treated to a private performance in her home from her young nephews of the group, the Motown Extreme, who had traveled from the West Coast to pay tribute to their aunt. “Oh, they were wonderful,” said Clarke. “They are traveling the country to help HBCUs with fundraising efforts. I am so proud of them for that.”
Clarke, a strong proponent of HBCUs, shared that her first college application was to Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU). Her mother Fannie Alice Griffin (now deceased) graduated from MVSU. “I thought it would be good to honor my mother, but I received a scholarship from Alcorn. That’s how I ended up there.”
A member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporated, Clarke said, “It would be wonderful if we would get more of our good students to attend HBCUs.”
To learn more about her nephews’ efforts to help HBCUs, visit: https://motownextreme.com/
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