Karen Clark
Encyclopedia
Karen J. Clark is a Minnesota
politician, and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
. A Democrat
, Clark represents District 61A, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis
in the Twin Cities
metropolitan area including portions of the Phillips
, Ventura Village
, Seward
, and Lyn-Lake
neighborhoods. She is the longest serving openly lesbian member to serve in a state legislature in the United States.
. She is currently a member of the Capital Investment, the Jobs and Economic Development Finance, and the Redistricting committees. Since first being elected, she has chaired the Governmental Operations Subcommittee for Jobs Creation and Unemployment Issues, the Economic Development and Housing Subcommittee for Job Development and Training, the Economic Development Subcommittee for the Community Stabilization and Development Division, the Housing Committee, the
Economic Development and International Trade Subcommittee for the Housing and Housing Finance Division, and the Finance Subcommittee for the Housing Policy and Finance and Public Health Finance Division.
, along with Senator D. Scott Dibble
(D–Minneapolis). After the Minnesota House voted on May 21, 2011, to place a gay marriage amendment referendum on the ballot in the 2012 general election, she and Dibble released a joint statement condemning the referendum. The referendum will have voters decide whether a legal marriage will be restricted to heterosexual couples.
Following the May 2011 House vote on the gay marriage amendment referendum, Clark stated: "It’s a sad day for the State of Minnesota. Tonight, we’ve moved one step closer to discriminating against Minnesotans simply based on who they love. This amendment won’t help a single family in Minnesota, and this vote is absolutely heartbreaking to thousands of people and families across our state. History will not look back kindly on this day or the people who voted for discrimination. The Minnesota I know is a place of inclusion, tolerance and love, and I truly believe the people of this great state will not vote to enshrine discrimination in our constitution..."
, graduating from Edgerton High School in 1963. She earned her B.S.
in nursing at the College of Saint Teresa
in Winona
. She later attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard University
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, earning her Master of Public Administration
degree in 1996.
Clark has been an instructor at the University of Minnesota
since 1985. She previously worked as public health nurse, VISTA
nurse-organizer and an OB-GYN Nurse Practitioner.
She is a member of the adjunct Faculty of the Department of Human Relations at St. Cloud State University
, of the University of Minnesota’s Women’s Studies Department, of the Macalester College
Women’s Studies Department, and of the College of St. Catherine
Graduate School of Holistic Health. She is a member of AFSCME. She is active in numerous South Minneapolis neighborhoods on issues relating to housing, health, human-rights, labor, women's rights, peace, and affordable high-quality child care for all.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
politician, and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
. A Democrat
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
, Clark represents District 61A, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
in the Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
metropolitan area including portions of the Phillips
Phillips, Minneapolis
Phillips is a community in Minneapolis, just south of downtown. It is one of the most diverse and culturally-rich communities in Minnesota. Traditionally, it was both a community and a neighborhood . In other words, the Phillips community only contained one neighborhood, also called Phillips...
, Ventura Village
Ventura Village, Minneapolis
Ventura Village is a neighborhood within the Phillips community in Minneapolis. Its boundaries are Interstate 35W to the west, Interstate 94 to the north, and Hiawatha Avenue to the east...
, Seward
Seward, Minneapolis
The Seward neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., is geographically southeast of downtown and defined by the triangle of land bordered by Hiawatha Avenue to the west, Minneapolis Midtown Greenway to the south, the Mississippi River to the east, and Interstate 94 to the north...
, and Lyn-Lake
Lyn-Lake
Lyn-Lake is a commercial district in south Minneapolis. At the core is the intersection of Lake Street and Lyndale Avenue from which Lyn-Lake takes its name. This is also at the intersection of four Minneapolis neighborhoods: Whittier on the northeast, Lyndale on the southeast, Calhoun Area on...
neighborhoods. She is the longest serving openly lesbian member to serve in a state legislature in the United States.
Service in the Minnesota House
First elected in November 1980, Clark is serving her sixteenth term in the Minnesota LegislatureMinnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...
. She is currently a member of the Capital Investment, the Jobs and Economic Development Finance, and the Redistricting committees. Since first being elected, she has chaired the Governmental Operations Subcommittee for Jobs Creation and Unemployment Issues, the Economic Development and Housing Subcommittee for Job Development and Training, the Economic Development Subcommittee for the Community Stabilization and Development Division, the Housing Committee, the
Economic Development and International Trade Subcommittee for the Housing and Housing Finance Division, and the Finance Subcommittee for the Housing Policy and Finance and Public Health Finance Division.
Champion for GLBT rights
Clark is a lesbian, and is one of two openly gay members of the Minnesota LegislatureMinnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...
, along with Senator D. Scott Dibble
D. Scott Dibble
David Scott Dibble is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota State Senate who represents District 60, which includes portions of the city of Minneapolis in Hennepin County....
(D–Minneapolis). After the Minnesota House voted on May 21, 2011, to place a gay marriage amendment referendum on the ballot in the 2012 general election, she and Dibble released a joint statement condemning the referendum. The referendum will have voters decide whether a legal marriage will be restricted to heterosexual couples.
Following the May 2011 House vote on the gay marriage amendment referendum, Clark stated: "It’s a sad day for the State of Minnesota. Tonight, we’ve moved one step closer to discriminating against Minnesotans simply based on who they love. This amendment won’t help a single family in Minnesota, and this vote is absolutely heartbreaking to thousands of people and families across our state. History will not look back kindly on this day or the people who voted for discrimination. The Minnesota I know is a place of inclusion, tolerance and love, and I truly believe the people of this great state will not vote to enshrine discrimination in our constitution..."
Background, education and career
Raised on a farm in southwestern Minnesota, Clark attended public schools in EdgertonEdgerton, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,033 people, 435 households, and 287 families residing in the city. The population density was 890.2 people per square mile . There were 477 housing units at an average density of 411.1 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 98.84% White, 0.29%...
, graduating from Edgerton High School in 1963. She earned her B.S.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in nursing at the College of Saint Teresa
College of Saint Teresa
The College of Saint Teresa was a Catholic women's college in Winona, Minnesota. Previously a seminary, it became a college in 1907 and was operated by the Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota until its closing in 1989.-History:...
in Winona
Winona, Minnesota
Winona is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, in the U.S. State of Minnesota. Located in picturesque bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf....
. She later attended the John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, earning her Master of Public Administration
Master of Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
degree in 1996.
Clark has been an instructor at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
since 1985. She previously worked as public health nurse, VISTA
AmeriCorps VISTA
AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed to fight poverty. President John F. Kennedy originated the idea for VISTA, which was founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965 and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993....
nurse-organizer and an OB-GYN Nurse Practitioner.
She is a member of the adjunct Faculty of the Department of Human Relations at St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud State University is a four-year public university founded in 1869 on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. The university is the largest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system which is the largest single provider of higher...
, of the University of Minnesota’s Women’s Studies Department, of the Macalester College
Macalester College
Macalester College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 as a Presbyterian-affiliated but nonsectarian college. Its first class entered September 15, 1885. The college is located on a campus in a historic residential neighborhood...
Women’s Studies Department, and of the College of St. Catherine
College of St. Catherine
St. Catherine University is a private Catholic university for women located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. There is also a campus in Minneapolis. Enrollment is 5,246 students. With approximately 2,900 bachelor's students, it is the largest university for women in the United States. Its...
Graduate School of Holistic Health. She is a member of AFSCME. She is active in numerous South Minneapolis neighborhoods on issues relating to housing, health, human-rights, labor, women's rights, peace, and affordable high-quality child care for all.