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Biography of Hansen Clarke
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Hansen Clarke
(born March 2, 1957 ) is a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan .
He is a Democratic member of the Michigan Senate, representing the 1st
District since 2003. Previously he was a member of the Michigan House of
Representatives from 1991 through 1992, and from 1999 through 2002. He
then served in the Michigan Senate, representing the 1st District from
January 1, 2003 to January 3, 2011. Clarke is also the first U.S.
Congressman of Bangladeshi descent.
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Early life and education
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Hansen
Clarke was born in Detroit , Michigan to a Bangladeshi father and
American mother. He grew up in the city's lower east side. His mother
had to work as a crossing guard to try and make ends meet. Hansen's
journey out of poverty began in the third grade when an observant school
teacher recognized his artistic ability and urged his mother Thelma to
provide him with lessons. Private lessons were out of the question on a
crossing guard's salary. However, being a resourceful person, she was
able to arrange for the Detroit Institute of Arts to pay for the lessons
through a grant. From there, Clarke went on to high school at Cass
Tech, and then was admitted to a prestigious east-coast prep school to
complete his high school.
Hard work and
innate artistic ability eventually lead to a scholarship offer from
Cornell University . During his time there, he received the devastating
news that his mother Thelma had died. "I felt that I was alone as a
person," said Clarke. "I can see now how all of that impacted the person
I became. That's why I'm so quick to protect other people. When I see
someone alone and vulnerable I can relate to what they are going through
Clarke worked
through that pain, and graduated with a degree in fine arts. However,
while there, he became interested in politics when was troubled by how
few minorities there were on campus. Concerned that the university might
be moving away from providing need-based scholarships to disadvantaged
students, he decided to run for the student seat on the Cornell
University Board of Trustees. After beating out another political
dynamo, Ann Coulter, he with served with great distinction throughout
his senior year. His undergraduate success led to his membership in the
Quill and Dagger society.
After his time at
Cornell, Hansen Clarke decided to pursue a career in law. He was
accepted into Georgetown Law School where he graduated in 1984 with a
Juris Doctor.
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CAREER
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Hansen
Clarke worked as chief of staff to U.S. Representative John Conyers, as
well as in Wayne County during the administration of Edward McNamara.
Clarke was first
elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives in 1990 and
served one term before being defeated in the Democratic primary in 1992
by Joe Young Jr. In 1998 and 2000, Clarke was re-elected to the Michigan
House.
Hansen Clarke was
then elected to the Michigan Senate in 2002, defeating incumbent Senator
Ray Murphy. After an unsuccessful mayoral bid in 2005, Senator Clarke
was re-elected to his seat in the Senate in 2006.
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POLITICS
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Senator
Clarke says he sees a disconnect between many Detroiters and their
elected officials which he feels leads to a sense of powerlessness in
much of the inner city community. "I want to inspire citizens that their
government can help them. I know that sounds like rhetoric but I
believe it." Senator Clarke serves as Minority Vice Chair of the Health
Policy and Commerce and Tourism committees.
During his time
in the Senate, Clarke has argued that voters need to hold their elected
officials accountable, otherwise the problems of the inner city will not
be properly addressed. "I tell my constituents that I want them to hold
me accountable," says Clarke. "You don't normally see problems with
blighted buildings or under-performing schools in the suburbs. That's
because voters in the suburbs hold their elected officials accountable."
Another major issue
the Senator has worked on is the divestment of the State of Michigan 's
pension funds from the nation of Sudan . Ever since the genocide began
in 2004, there has been an outcry to pull US assets out of the country.
Seeing the continuing failure of the federal government to act, and
seeing the continuing humanitarian crisis, Senator Clarke felt that it
was time for the state of Michigan to act if the federal government
would not. His legislation proposed in the State Senate, along with a
similar bill in the House from Rep. Wheeler-Smith, would pull all monies
from State pension funds out of companies that do business in the
country of Sudan .
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