U.S. Assistant Attorney General visits UAPB

On Tuesday, April 25, the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, Kristen Clarke, was on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She visited several HBCUs in the South, and UAPB was chosen as one of those sites to discuss civil rights issues. Her visit to Pine Bluff included lunch with UAPB student leaders and a fireside chat with UAPB administrators, faculty, staff, students, and community leaders.

The visit included Civil Rights Division Office members, Representative Vivian Flowers, Arkansas State Representative, District 17, and U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Ross. In addition, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas, including Paulette Chappelle and Benecia Moore, assisted in coordinating the event.

Front (L-R): Rep. Vivian Flowers, Chancellor Alexander, AAG Kristen Clarke, Mar’Tavius Proctor, U.S. Atty J. D. Ross

The UAPB fireside chat was held in the S.J. Parker 1890 Building Auditorium with a welcome by Chancellor Dr. Laurence B. Alexander. Mar’Tavius Proctor, a UAPB senior majoring in criminal justice, introduced AAG Clarke. AAG Clarke’s fireside chat remarks focused on education and civil and social justice issues while identifying some of the critical priorities for the Civil Rights Division. The fireside chat was followed by Proctor moderating the audience questions and answers portion of the session. UAPB students voiced concerns and questions about voter turnout and registration, prisoner rights, hate crimes versus stand-your-ground case decisions, to curiosity about AAG Clarke’s approach to work-life harmony and college and career decisions.

AAG Clarke responded with insights and examples from her personal and professional experience. She cited perspectives from Nelson Mandella to the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Throughout her chat and responses, she encouraged the students to think critically, make good academic and career decisions, and remain interested and involved in public service and civil rights issues. For more local television coverage on the Assistant Attorney General’s visit in Arkansas, use this link.

Kristen Clarke is the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. In this role, she leads the Justice Department’s broad federal civil rights enforcement efforts. She works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all who live in America. Assistant Attorney General Clarke is a lifelong civil rights lawyer who has spent her entire career in public service.

Assistant Attorney General Clarke began her career as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division through the Department of Justice’s Honors Program. In 2006, she joined the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where she helped lead the organization’s work in voting rights and election law across the country. Ms. Clarke worked on cases defending the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, presented oral arguments to the D.C. District Court in Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, and has provided testimony on federal and state voting rights legislation. In 2011, she was named the head of the Civil Rights Bureau for the New York State Attorney General’s Office, where she led broad civil rights enforcement actions. Under her leadership, the Bureau secured landmark agreements with banks to address unlawful redlining, employers to address barriers to reentry for people with criminal backgrounds, police departments on reforms to policies and practices, major retailers on racial profiling of consumers, landlords on discriminatory housing policies, school districts concerning issues relating to the school-to-prison pipeline and more.

 In 2015, Ms. Clarke was named the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, one of the nation’s leading civil rights organizations founded at the request of John F. Kennedy. There, she led the organization’s legal work in courts across the country, addressing some of the nation’s most complex racial justice and civil rights challenges. Assistant Attorney General Clarke was born in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Choate Rosemary Hall, she received her B.A. from Harvard University and her J.D. from Columbia Law School.

UAPB senior Mar’Tavius Proctor with U.S. AAG Kristen Clarke

We appreciate the participation of all of our students and student leaders, with a special acknowledgment to Mar’Tavius Proctor, who introduced AAG Clarke and moderated the Q&A session. Mar’Tavius is a senior criminal justice scholar from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He is an active leader with experience advocating for the enhancement of the undergraduate student experience at UAPB and strengthening the narrative of Pine Bluff.

He has been involved with the Student Government Association Senate on campus. In addition, he is a newly initiated member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated – Beta Theta Chapter. In the community, Mr. Proctor is the President and Founder of Pride Pine Bluff. This youth-based community organization works to improve the quality of life within Pine Bluff through community service and advocacy.

In 2017, Mar’Tavius completed the Teen Academy Program hosted by the Little Rock Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2018, he completed the Future Agents in Training program that the Federal Bureau of Investigation also sponsored. Today, Mr. Proctor is interning with the Democratic Party of Arkansas, learning from notable Arkansans such as Dr. Chris Jones and Senator Stephanie Flowers. He aspires to become the youngest and most productive mayor in the history of Pine Bluff, Arkansas.